Poor sleep patterns and insomnia are known to cause a variety of psychological and physical complaints. These include headaches, decreased energy, poor concentration, short-term memory problems, irritability and anxiety. By regulating your sleep patterns, you can reduce anxiety and improve your ability to carry out your daily activities.
1. Regulate Your Sleep-Wake Schedule
Go to bed at the same time each night and awaken at the same time each day. This will help regulate your body’s internal clock and make you drowsy when sleep time nears.
2. Make Sure You Have a Comfortable Sleeping Environment
Check Your sleeping environment. Make sure your sleeping room is dark, free of noise and the air temperature is comfortable. Make sure your bedding and pillows are not contributing to your sleeplessness.
3. Avoid Daytime Naps
Napping, especially later in the day, can interfere with your ability to fall asleep at bedtime. If you must nap during the day, try only doing so in the early afternoon and for no more than 15 to 30 minutes.
4. Perform Relaxing Rituals As Bedtime Nears
When bedtime draws near, do things that make you relax. This may be taking a warm bath, reading, watching television or using some relaxation techniques.
5. Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol may make you drowsy, and therefore, fall asleep faster. But, it can affect your quality of sleep and cause awakening during the night. There is also some evidence that long-term alcohol consumption just before bedtime reduces its sleep-inducing effect and increases the likelihood of disrupted sleep during the night.
6. Avoid Caffeine
The stimulant effect of caffeine can affect your sleep for many hours after it is consumed. If you have panic disorder, you doctor may have advised you to remove or reduce caffeine from your diet because it has been implicated in inducing panic attacks in a number of studies.
7. Don’t Smoke
Nicotine can affect sleep because it is a stimulant. If you are addicted to nicotine, you may also experience withdrawal symptoms that may interrupt your sleep during the night. If you quit smoking now, you can improve your sleep and your overall health.
8. If You Can’t Sleep, Don’t Stay In Bed
Don't lie in bed awake if you can’t sleep. This will, likely, increase your anxiety about not being able to sleep and make it harder to fall asleep. If you haven’t fallen asleep after about 30 minutes, get up and do something relaxing until you feel tired enough to sleep. Try reading, listening to music, watching television or anything else that will make you drowsy.
9. Talk to Your Doctor
If you continue to have problems falling asleep or staying asleep, talk to your doctor. He can prescribe medications to treat your insomnia.
Source:
Bengston, M. Sleep Disorders: Tips for A Good Night’s Sleep. PsychCentral.com. 2005.
