A long period of sleep deprivation could lead to insomnia.
This is more common in populated cities with people who do 9 to 5 jobs.
They sleep less and face the chances of coming down with insomnia.
On the other divide are people who do not do 9 to 5, yet they stay awake all night.
While some spend more time than they should watching movies or television programmes, others watch Big Brother Naija, waiting for a ‘show’.
Unfortunately, if you engage in this, your body clock adjusts to this timing and then insomnia sets in afterwards.
You roll from one end of the bed to the other, wondering why sleeplessness has become your companion.
People who experience this feel drowsy and tired in the day, yet they cannot sleep.
Psychiatric Times says insomnia has been associated with depression and anxiety disorders (1).
It has also been linked to hypertension even when possible confounding variables such as age and weight are held constant.
If you want to begin to enjoy your bed time again, you will need to find the cause of the deprivation and address it.
4 Simple Techniques To Improve Sleep
However, there are few things Harvard Medical School suggests (2).
“Nearly half of insomnia cases stem from psychological or emotional issues.
“Stressful events, mild depression, or an anxiety disorder can make falling asleep and staying asleep difficult. Ideally, once the underlying cause is treated, the insomnia improves”.
Therefore, these 4 simple steps that are centered on behavioural changes can help.
If you are having trouble sleeping well, the following four techniques may help.
1. Sleep Restriction
Sometimes people create this restriction by themselves.
They lay in bed yet their mind wonders around the whole world, as a result of what they have fed the mind in the day.
Reduce the tendency by engaging in more fulfilling and satisfying things in the day and clear your mind before you sleep.
Make the room as welcoming as it can be and you will get that refreshing feeling the moment you lay on your bed.
This is one reason sleeping in a hotel room makes people feel refreshed in the morning.
2. Reconditioning
If you change the way you use your bedroom, you will begin to get a more relaxing feeling from it.
For instance, associating the bedroom with sleep instead of sleeplessness and frustration, will help you.
Avoid reading on the bed or using your phone there.
Most importantly, make your bed a place for sleep or sex and go to bed only when you’re sleepy, experts at Harvard Medical School suggest.
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“If you’re unable to sleep, move to another room and do something relaxing. Stay up until you are sleepy, and then return to bed. If sleep does not follow quickly, repeat,” they recommend.
3. Relaxation Techniques
If you find that your mind is travelling around the world when you are in bed, kindly address it.
Engage meditation, cover the eyes with something, practice breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation and biofeedback. These exercises can help.
4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Some persons have negative thoughts and beliefs about sleep which they need to address.
The experts at Harvard say CBT “aims to change the negative thoughts and beliefs about sleep into positive ones”.
“People with insomnia tend to become preoccupied with sleep and apprehensive about the consequences of poor sleep.
“This worry makes relaxing and falling asleep nearly impossible,” a recent publication on sleep emphasised.
They recommend that individuals who have this challenge should set realistic goals and learn to let go of inaccurate thoughts that can interfere with your sleeping time.
We hope that you will enjoy your sleep going forward.
Kindly share with friends and loved ones to help them get better sleeping time.