Having trouble sleeping lately? Well, think about all the factors involved in getting a good night’s sleep: pressure at work, problems with your love affair or drinking coffee after mid-afternoon, can all be reasons to make it difficult for you to get a good night’s sleep.

There is no doubt that sometimes controlling all the factors that influence the amount of sleep is complicated, but it is possible to adopt habits that allow you to sleep more and better. This is important for your health, but it is also necessary to be lucid and focused during the day.

Sleep hygiene: what is it?

The sleep hygiene is a set of practices that become necessary to sleep well. When we talk about falling asleep at night, it is not only a question of quantity, but also of quality. How you sleep will influence your performance during the day, your well-being and your lucidity.

Sleeping difficulties are often found in the daily routine: work schedule, habits before bed, lifestyle, etc. It is therefore important that you understand that the aim of sleep hygiene is that you go to bed and wake up on a regular basis throughout the week . It is also important that you spend the necessary time in bed, that is, no less and no more. This can vary between individuals (can be 6, 7 or 8 hours) for different reasons, such as age.

Top 10 Tips for Better Sleep

The following tips can help you to optimise your night’s rest , so that your mental acuity does not suffer, you maintain your emotional balance and have an ideal energy level during the day. So pay attention, because these recommendations will positively affect your well-being.

1. Take care of the environment

It is necessary to create an adequate environment to be able to rest and not to interrupt sleep during the night , because the environmental conditions will greatly affect the time of rest and the ability to fall asleep. To make the most of your rest during the night, it is necessary that you sleep on a comfortable mattress, with a suitable pillow, and in a room where you feel comfortable. When you fall asleep, it is advisable to have low light, low noise and a pleasant temperature. It is highly recommended to have the TV turned off.

Besides, you must use the bed only for sleeping. What do I mean by that? That the bed should not be used for other things, such as playing the console, working on the computer or eating. What you can do in bed is have sex, and besides sex will allow you to sleep better : after reaching orgasm the body relaxes and helps you to fall asleep.

2. Follow a sleep ritual

If you have difficulty sleeping, you can try having a ritual before going to bed . For example, take a hot bath with some music to relax and then drink an infusion before going to bed.

It is also important that you are relaxed at bedtime. If you’ve just done an exciting activity, it’s a good idea to find that ideal pre-sleep state. Performing relaxation techniques can be useful to calm down and free you from daily tensions.

3. Watch your diet

Eating can influence our sleep, since both what and when we eat can affect our general well-being and can be a problem when we go to bed. A balanced diet will always be beneficial for our body, but it is also important to keep a schedule for meals. Dinner should not be heavy, but neither should you go to bed hungry because it can cause us to wake up during the night looking for food.

This is different from Night Eater Syndrome (NES), which can be caused by anxiety, depression, or a change in endocrine patterns, among other things. If you have morning anorexia, which means that you hardly eat anything, and for the rest of the day until the evening you eat very few calories but then gorge yourself, you should see a specialist to treat this problem as soon as possible.

4. Do not take stimulants after mid-afternoon

Coffee consumption is widespread in our culture, but caffeine stimulates the brain and interferes with sleep . Drinking it in the morning can be a good option, but coffee, tea or cola should not be consumed after mid-afternoon, especially if you are sensitive to its effects.

It is important to note that, despite these indications, there are people who may consume products such as coffee even just before going to bed. Unfortunately, most of us may not be so lucky. Just in case, it is better to do without stimulants if we find that we do not sleep well at all.

5. Practice physical exercise

Regular exercise helps people sleep better. Its beneficial effects, however, depend on the time of day that the exercise is done and the overall physical condition of the individual. Some experts warn that exercise in the morning does not affect nightly sleep, and even helps people sleep better, but if it is done too close to bedtime and the intensity of exercise is high, it is likely to cause sleep disturbance .

After an intense training session the body takes up to four hours to fully recover: return to normal heart rate, reload the muscle energy deposits, recover the water balance and in general, return to a state of rest that allows us to rest properly. On the other hand, doing little physical exercise and leading a sedentary lifestyle can cause insomnia.

6. Don’t abuse your nap

Many studies seem to indicate that taking a nap after a meal has many health and mental benefits. Therefore, taking a nap will have a beneficial effect on your well-being and can increase your alertness, concentration, productivity, and will improve your memory and learning ability.

But to prevent the nap from affecting sleep patterns during the night and to avoid complications in falling asleep at night, it is preferable not to take a nap too late in the day . Ideally, a short nap of 20 to 30 minutes maximum is recommended. If you have problems sleeping at night, you may need to avoid napping for a while.

7. Try not to drink alcohol before bedtime

Don’t drink alcohol before going to sleep, because although it will help you fall asleep faster due to its depressive effect, it will alter the later phases of your sleep and will cause you to wake up during the night, preventing you from getting the necessary rest and reducing the quality of your sleep.

8. If you can’t fall asleep, get up

If on any occasion you are unable to fall asleep, get up and do an activity that induces sleep , such as performing a relaxation technique or reading a book. It is better not to stay in bed, as it will increase your anxiety as time goes by. Do not overexert yourself during this period, as it may increase your level of wakefulness. Also avoid high lighting.

9. Always go to bed and get up at the same time

Having a schedule for falling asleep and waking up will allow your body to start the processes that will trigger sleep in advance , as well as helping you to optimise your internal clock and therefore the quality of your sleep. If your work schedule allows it, schedule your sleep hours in a realistic way to improve your quality of life.

It’s not about having a strict sleep schedule, but it’s important that, for example, you don’t go to bed late at night if you start work early.

10. Clears the head

Stress, worry, or anger about something that happened during the day can disrupt your sleep. If this happens to you, you should take time out of bed for self-reflection, as this can help you to find out what is wrong with you and what you need to do to fix it .

If you can’t stop worrying and feel like you’ve lost control, you need to learn to manage your thoughts. For example, you need to know that it is possible to evaluate your emotions and/or check how realistic your thoughts are. Mindfulness can be a great help for correct emotional management and self-knowledge, to improve your self-esteem and to adopt a positive attitude towards problematic situations that may arise in your daily life.

It may be the stress of work or college that makes your sleep difficult. Learning to manage time can be effective in keeping you calm and relaxed at night. You may need to address deeper issues, such as your self-esteem or your relationship with your partner. In these cases insomnia can be a symptom of a more serious problem .

Important: insomnia can sometimes be a symptom of a psychological disorder

Sleep hygiene is effective when different habits are performed at the same time. If you always go to bed at the same time, but drink coffee at night, don’t eat lightly and have a sedentary lifestyle, you are likely to have difficulty sleeping.

This is interesting for preventing sleep disorders, but if the problem is already present, you may need to see a psychologist. Insomnia, sometimes, is a symptom of some psychopathology such as depression or anxiety. In these cases, in addition to following the 10 tips for good sleep hygiene, it is also necessary to go to psychotherapy sessions.

You may be interested in: “7 psychological signs that you are not getting enough sleep”