Even in people with good sleep, episodes of insomnia or difficulty falling asleep can occur . Insomnia, also called agripnia, is the difficulty of falling asleep, even if you feel tired or sleepy. But, insomnia is also spoken of when the person states that their sleep is not satisfactory.
Difficulty sleeping or insomnia is due to anxiety and fatigue , which can be caused by organic or psychiatric problems and, in old age, by senility. Regularly, when it is occasional, there are conditions of an emotional nature, stress, changes in schedules or rooms; when it is usual, in apparently healthy individuals, a psychological study shows conflicts that generate anxiety and restlessness. The advice and exercises proposed here are aimed at a general audience.
Index
15 tips to fall asleep fast
- Maintain the routine : it is important to always do the same activity before bed, which, of course, will be a function of going to bed. For example, get things that are important to you ready and go to the bathroom.
- Rationalize your time in bed . You should not exceed the time spent in bed; get only seven to eight hours of sleep. Sleep delayed in the morning due to laziness tends to be light, so it is not really restorative. Set a set time for going to bed and waking up.
- If the dream does not come, do not despair . Paradoxically, if you persistently seek to fall asleep it will produce the opposite effect, because the nervous system is altered. If you worry about the need to sleep, you will produce the so-called secondary insomnia, which appears precisely as a reaction to your despair. The dream comes gradually thanks to the disconnection of conscious thought.
- Relax . It is very important to sleep in order to relax. For this it is useful to take a shower with hot water for about twenty minutes. In addition, you can give yourself a short facial massage, take diaphragmatic breaths and try to remember pleasant moments.
- Preserve the sleep cycle . The mind responds to routine. Therefore, going to bed and getting up at the same time is a beneficial routine. To help establish a routine, it is advisable not to take naps. Loss of sleep biorhythm (circadian rhythm) can cause physical and mental health consequences.
- Reduce stress . Learning to say no is essential to avoid overloading the day with work. Physical stress also affects the psychological aspect. Overwork often leads to physical and mental exhaustion sooner or later. Share the responsibilities in the workplace and systematize the activities of each day, according to a reasonable schedule.
- Allow time for physical activity . Depending on your interests, sport offers multiple possibilities to move your body. It is a fact that aerobic sports produce emotional stability and strength of cardiac and respiratory functions. Just by walking, beyond normal, you will get good results. Do not do strong or moderate physical activity before going to bed, because it activates adrenaline.
- Do not use non-prescription sleeping pills . Painkillers and sleeping pills are sure to give you a deep sleep; however, due to their side effects, they should not be ingested without a doctor’s prescription.
- Eat a healthy diet . One of the factors that affects sleep is diet. You should consult an expert to point out the correct diet for you according to your weight and age. Over time, the digestive system’s assimilation capacity tends to decrease. Dinner should be very light and several hours before going to bed.
- If you don’t fall asleep get up . Sometimes you have to give your body time to relax. Before tossing and turning, it is preferable to get up. You can do anything that does not involve physical effort (read, watch TV, etc.) Go back to bed only when you feel sleepy and wake up at the same time. The next night you will be able to sleep on the first try.
- You need to get used to sleeping in bed . It often happens that you first fall asleep on a couch and then wake up in the middle of the night with a sore neck. The horizontal position guarantees a perfect relaxation of the muscles. Therefore, you must ensure that the entire body gets used to sleeping alone in bed. If you can do without pillows much better or use orthopedic pillows.
- If you can’t get a night’s sleep, don’t worry . It is within the norm that sometimes I cannot get into a deep sleep, even that I cannot sleep. You don’t have to worry about a wasted night.
- Control the factors that cause visual and sound disturbances . If it is noise produced by your neighbor try to talk to him to solve it. In any case, the alternative is to report it to the respective authority. When it comes to factors within your room, make sure there are no disturbing lights or noises. Also, your bed should provide you with the greatest possible comfort.
- Do not drink coffee or tea before going to bed . Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, so avoid drinking coffee or tea before bed.
- Don’t drink intoxicating drinks before bed . Alcohol has been shown to disrupt the quality of sleep. In addition, it will make you want to urinate during the night, interrupting your already precarious sleep.
Exercises to fall asleep fast
- Movements of the head. Make slow movements of your head without causing pain. Down, as if affirming; to each shoulder and as if denying. Meanwhile, breathe deeply, without lifting your shoulders.
- Stretching exercises .
- Try to reach each arm, one at a time, up to the ceiling, as if you were trying to touch the ceiling. You should feel the tension on each side, without pain.
- Stretch your back by sitting on the edge of the bed and extending your arms up. Repeat the movement, inhaling when lifting and exhaling when coming down.
- Lying on the bed, on your back, with no pillow on your head, bend each knee toward your chest. First, one leg at a time and then both at the same time. Slowly repeat the movement several times, until you feel relaxed.
- Lie on your stomach and breathe deeply. Place your arms parallel to the body, without pressing on the bed. Get up and repeat the action until your back relaxes.
Why is it important to sleep well?
All the analyzes that have been carried out in the area of psychology, psychiatry, neuropsychology, physiology, internal medicine, etc., conclude that recuperative sleep lengthens life and is the source of a healthy life.
Even the time you sleep is essential to discern good mental and physical health. Regularly, individuals who sleep more than 9 hours and those who sleep less than 5.5 hours, have more possibilities of suffering from different diseases.
In contrast, people who sleep between 7 and 8 hours show better psychological and physiological health. Sleep, in any case, is not only measured by extension, but by its quality. It is essential that sleep goes through various stages, until it reaches the REM phases, properly speaking, characterized by the presence of dreams.
Sleeping well implies recovering lost energy for the common denominator of people; however, when you sleep the body recovers much more than the energy. Thanks to the dream:
- The nervous system is sanitized from endogenous metabolites, generated during daily activity.
- There is the toning of the cerebral cortex , fundamental in the infant for its intellectual development.
- The reorganization of the excitatory schemes of the central nervous system that order the data accumulated during the day, in order to make them useful in the learning processes.
- Physiological drives are released in the infant and instinctual drives in the adult.
- satisfaction of repressed desires is achieved .
- emotional conflicts are resolved , allowing for better preparation for real life.
Human life without sleep would not be possible. In addition, sleep has been analyzed as a main indicator of people’s health status. Surely, your doctor has asked you how is your dream? Sleep well? Therefore, any deviation from the sleep pattern, and the hours of it, should not pass under the table. In other words, it is important to optimize your sleep habits .
Alexa Clark specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has experience in listening and welcoming in Individual Therapy and Couples Therapy. It meets demands such as generalized anxiety, professional, love and family conflicts, stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, grief, and adolescents from 15 years of age. Over the years, She felt the need to conduct the psychotherapy sessions with subtlety since She understands that the psychologist acts as a facilitator of self-understanding and self-acceptance, valuing each person's respect, uniqueness, and acceptance.