Everyone can suffer from insomnia and have difficulty falling asleep, but with these remedies going to bed will no longer be a cause for stress.
Many people suffer from insomnia and, in particular, have difficulty falling asleep due to the stress accumulated during the day, worries about the future, looming commitments and deadlines that do not give peace.
The constant activity of the brain does not stop when we put our head on the pillow, and we end up taking thoughts and worries to bed with us that then keep us up at night.
It would be nice to have a “Switch” with which to turn off your brain so you can rest peacefully, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist. So what can we do to recover good sleep quality and sleep better?
Luckily, there are simple strategies that we can implement before going to sleep to clear our mind of worries and prepare ourselves for a good rest. We have identified five: here they are.
The bed is for sleeping only
The first strategy we can implement to return to having a good restful sleep is to limit our presence in the bedroom to just sleeping.
If we have a TV in the room, we would do better to move it to another room – as well as the computer or work material: the bedroom must once again become the sacred place in which to rest the body and mind.
Another useful tip is to avoid using your mobile phone while in bed, before going to sleep: the smartphone screen exposes our eyes to blue lights and this inhibits the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
The ideal would be Turn off all technology devices and screens at least 30 minutes before going to bedand to keep the cell phone out of the room (just so as not to give in to the temptation to pick it up while we are still awake).
If we have been in bed for a while but are struggling to sleep, instead of scrolling through social media or watching TV, we read a few pages of a book or try to solve a crossword: these are relaxing activities for the mind, which they prepare us for good quality rest.
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If we are in bed but can’t fall asleep because we keep returning to a problem that afflicts us, let’s try to change the direction of our thoughts towards something happier.
Let’s concentrate and visualize a memory, a beautiful moment spent with our friends, or something that has yet to happen – such as our next trip or a work milestone.
Let’s try to immerse ourselves as much as possible in the situation, to imagine what our emotions and feelings were (or will be) regarding this event that was so positive for us.
The beneficial sensations triggered by this visualization exercise will help us keep problems and anxieties away and make us rest better.
Breathe
If we struggle to fall asleep in bed, we can implement simple breathing techniques that can help us fall into deep sleep.
If we are beginners in practicing breathing techniques, we can start with long, deep controlled breaths which, as some studies show, alone can help us counteract feelings of stress and anxiety.
Alternatively, we can try the yogic breathing techniquewhich we talked about in this article.
Make a to-do list
Very often we go to bed with our heads full of worries about commitments and events that we will have to face the next day, other times thoughts about things to do remain in background in our brain and don’t let us sleep.
To solve this problem, we can try to free our mind by writing down a list of commitments and things we intend to do tomorrow, before going to bed.
If we’re worried about forgetting to send that important email or go to the dry cleaners, we write these commitments down in ours to-do list: in this way, our brain will be certain that we will not forget to do these things and will be able to feel free from the commitment of reminding us.
Journal
Keeping a diary can also help us free ourselves from worries and stress to sleep more peacefully. Let’s take a notebook and, at the end of the day, write down what gives us worry or pain.
It could be problems related to work, an economic issue that gives us no peace, desires that we don’t know how to realize, misunderstandings with our partner or our parents.
Whatever the problem is, let’s get it out of our heads and transform it into a written page: this way it won’t distress us during the night and we will be free to rest well.
Try guided meditation
Another technique that can be effective for falling asleep is guided meditation. There are numerous apps and podcasts that offer meditations specifically for evening relaxation, helping us detach our minds from intrusive thoughts. Choosing a meditation with a calm voice and relaxing sounds can prepare us for a deeper sleep, slowing down the flow of thoughts and bringing our attention only to the present.
Create a pre-sleep routine
Finally, it’s important to maintain a relaxing bedtime routine. This might include activities such as a warm shower, a relaxing tea, or some light stretching. Getting your body and mind used to a sequence of calming gestures will help prepare you for a regenerating sleep.
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