Ways to get adequate sleep.
1. Establish sleeping time
It is good to establish when you usually go to bed, say 9pm or 10pm; after a while your brain will get tuned to it. Wake up time should be 6am.This will ensure you get between 8 and 9 hours sleep every night
As you get older and freer from routine work you could have an hour’s nap from 3pm to 4pm.
2. Ensure your sleep is not disturbed
Inform your spouse and the children that save for emergency you do not like your sleep disturbed. Put your mobile phones on vibration or silence, this has its draw back though as someone in dire need may not be able to reach you.
3. Avoid late meals
Heavy meals late at night can disturb sleep owing to the discomfort of lying on the bed with full stomach, possible regurgitation of the food and heart burn. Fatty foods are worst as digestion takes longer.
Endeavour to eat your meals before 8 pm
4. Avoid late evening exercises
Exercises increase blood pressure slightly and this may disturb your sleep if done close to bed time. To have quality sleep you should be done with exercise by 6 pm latest.
5. Avoid alcohol and caffeine in the night
Substances like alcohol and nicotine can disrupt deep sleep. It’s best to limit them before bed time. This also applies to some sedatives and sleeping medicine. Caffeine being a stimulant causes sleeplessness in some people like this writer. Avoid all these t night.
6. Create a conducive sleeping environment
Your sleeping environment must be conducive for you to have quality sleep. Ensure the room is dark, no television, bed should be well made with clean sheets. Temperature and humidity should be right. If the area is airy and the windows mosquito proofed, open the windows but close them in the wee hours.
7. Always de-stress yourself
Stress is a major cause of poor sleep or inadequate sleep. Since you cannot avoid stress in any society, you must learn to unwind, to de-stress yourself. If possible avoid known stressors.
8. Go for regular medical check-ups
Certain illnesses can affect sleep pattern, in some cases what take the patient to hospital is inability to sleep with examination and tests revealing the underlying cause(s). regular medical chec-ups can reveal such ailments for proper management.
9. Avoid self medication/Energy drinks
Certain drugs affect the length and quality of sleep; some cause complete sleeplessness including prescription drugs. Known drugs include amphetamines, some pain killers and constituents of some energy drinks. Doctors are aware of this and can easily take care of the situation.
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