Having a stressful day and knowing you may have to fulfill those same responsibilities tomorrow may keep you tossing and turning at night. Unhealthy sleeping can affect your brain, cardiovascular health, immune system, creativity, and weight. It is important to change your daily routine so that you can sleep soundly when it is time to sleep.
Everyone should be asleep for at least eight hours. Try to go to bed and wake up at around the same time to fix your sleep cycle. It takes fifteen minutes to fall asleep so set your alarm to fifteen minutes before you plan on sleeping. If it is twenty minutes later and you still cannot sleep, leave your bedroom and do something relaxing like pick up on a book you want to finish reading, watch something on TV, or listen to soothing music. Make sure not to sleep when you have an empty stomach or have eaten too much that you have a stomach ache. If you are hungry, you can have a small snack but do not eat heavy meals a couple of hours before you sleep.
You should also not smoke or drink before you sleep as it can take hours for the effects of alcohol and nicotine to wear off. The room you sleep in should make you comfortable like making your bedroom dark and quiet. Close the shades and your door to prevent light from coming in and distracting you. Even if it means you need to wear a sleeping mask to cover your eyes, wear earplugs, turn on your fan, or listen to calming music. Before you sleep, you can take a nice bath and do relaxation techniques to better calm you like yoga. If you take long naps during the day, it can interfere with your sleep cycle so it is best to take a nap for no more than half an hour during the day.
It is possible that the reason you cannot sleep is because you have too much on your mind but did not have enough time in the day to complete your tasks. Write on a piece of paper everything that is on your mind and set aside tasks you need to complete tomorrow to better organize yourself. If these problems still persist, talk to a doctor so he can see if you have insomnia or other underlying causes to help you sleep.
Located in downtown Midland, The Springboard Center’s mission is to offer programs and services to treat alcohol and drug addiction treatment using an evidence based curriculum, 12 step programs, diet, nutrition, exercise, emotional, mental and spiritual development for a long recovery. For more information, please call us at 432-620-0255 as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
