Pic: Flickr
Insomnia and sleeplessness are problems many adults suffer from, at least temporarily, at some stage in their life. Reasons can range from work stress and anxiety, to a poor diet and hormone fluctuations. Even genetics can affect your sleep, according to some researchers.
However, sometimes it can be as simple as making your room more conducive for a good, healthy nap.
Pick the Right Mattress
This seems the most obvious point. After all, we all know what it’s like to try to settle on a lumpy mattress. You may be surprised to know, however, that even an okay mattress may be contributing to your overall stress levels. The best mattresses for back pain, such as ones with adjustable pressure settings, will also have untold benefits to your stress levels. And that should help you get a good dose of shut-eye.
Feng shui
It might sound like hogwash, but a philosophy that’s been going strong for 4000 years is worth a try right? Feng shui enthusiasts swear by their art. Mostly it involves placing furniture and key elements around the house in order to facilitate the flow of positive energy. One aspect is ensuring that your bed doesn’t face the door. If you think about it, maybe the last thing you see before you sleep shouldn’t be the point by which you’ll have to get up and out in the morning.
Herbs and oils
This is a whole category too big to go into any great detail. Every plant and fragrance claims to have certain properties and there is a lot of information online about these. Of these, plants oils like jasmine, when put on your pillow can alleviate stress and revitalise your body. Sending you softly, and fragrantly, to the land of nod.
No Snacking!
Snacking, especially on sugary or fatty junk food, in bed is an absolute no-no. Everybody, and I mean everybody, is different and some are more sensitive to unhealthy diets than others. Try to keep the ice cream at bay and allow your body to detox with a good meal in the evening, and a long enough break to digest before bed.
Lighting
Light pollution from street lamps and cars can be a severe annoyance. In rare cases, you can even complain to the council about this and they might dim the light outside your house. But if you live next to a busy street it probably won’t happen. If it does, it might not make a difference, even. Investing in some thick blinds should do the trick.
No TV. No Computer
A difficult modern habit to get out of it dozing off in front of the TV – or laptop, or tablet. Just because your body has gotten used to this way of sleeping, doesn’t mean you are not denying your body the quality of sleep it needs. You’re body has gotten used to that too.
Hypnosis
A good way of turning your nasty film-watching habit into something productive is to check out the relaxation channels on Youtube. Of course, there are a lot of amateurs out there, so you may find a lot of pseudo new-age nonsense, but have a look around. Maybe you’ll find that all your body was aching for in order to sleep was the sound of two humpback whales talking about krill. If not, why not create your own special sleep playlist?
