Self-help tips for those suffering from insomnia!

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2. The Struggle: What Can You Do For Insomnia?
It’s way past the normal bedtime hours, the truth is, you don’t know the time exactly. All
you know is that you’ve been up a long time now, staring blankly in the ceiling. The si-
lence is freaking you out. Even more so the thought of going to work tomorrow. How are
you going to face the stresses of work tomorrow when you haven't even been able to
recover from today’s stresses? Your body is tired, your brain is tired, but your mind just
won't rest.
Knowing if you are suffering from insomnia
We have two in-depth blog posts about the signs and symptoms of insomnia. It is such
a vast and complicated clinical term because it can either be a disorder on its own or a
component of another disorder. It gets even more confusing as insomnia has various
characteristics, it includes individuals who have issues when it comes to their sleep, not
just at its onset but also with its maintenance.
If you have problems with falling asleep, termed as sleep-onset latency, then you can be
a candidate for insomnia. But how would you know whether your tossing and turning in
bed is already too long to be considered normal? Simply notice the people around you
or ask around. If your average time to fall asleep is unusually higher than theirs, then
you might be suffering from sleep-onset latency insomnia.
For the early birds, you also need to take notice of your sleeping patterns. Waking up
around the middle of the dawn isn't normal. Similarly, if you wake up several times dur-
ing the night for no reason, you might also be suffering from insomnia already. With
these characteristics, your sleep deprivation can be labeled as sleep-maintenance in-
somnia.

3. If you want to take control of your sleeping habits and
insomnia
Then you need to implement some lifestyle changes first. This is the most basic step
because if something external is hindering you from sleeping, then only by removing it
can you get that much-needed sleep. Even if you try and try to fall asleep, if it’s your
habits that has been wrongly honed all this time, then all your efforts would fall into a
rabbit hole. So have a thorough reading of the items below and see if you can imple-
ment them within your life.
1.Go to bed at the same time every night
Some people have been conditioned to sleep at random times every night. This disturbs
the normal circadian rhythm of the body. Getting into a routine every night can help
bring back that normal circadian rhythm. So take into account your daily schedule, from
work or school, what time can you get back home? Take your dinner at least an hour
before your preferred bed time schedule. And make sure you stick to the routine every
night for the following weeks.
Establishing a routine can help your insomnia. But did you know that those with regular
sleep patterns are known to be more productive and less sleepy during the day? In this
study, researchers found that even with comparable sleep duration, those students who
slept early on a regular basis performed better in school than those who have irregular
sleep patterns. Thus, establishing a regular sleep pattern doesn't only have some effect
on your insomnia, it can also have an effect on your performance whether it’s in school
or in work.

4. 2. Munch on the right food
The food you take during the day, especially before you sleep, can heavily affect your
sleeping pattern. If you love to eat heavy or spicy foods, do so early in the morning.
Consuming these foods during night time can cause heartburn, thereby disturbing your
sleep. Similarly, high-fat foods such as pizzas, fries and burgers can cause some dis-
comfort. These foods take a longer time to digest which could keep you awake or lead
to disturbances in your sleep.
To help you sleep better, munch on two types of food: tryptophan-rich ones and carbo-
hydrate-rich ones. Tryptophan is a natural sedative since it is converted into serotonin

5. by the body. But for tryptophan to be converted into serotonin, it must cross the blood-
brain barrier. Carbohydrates spike our insulin levels in the body and with this increase,
the other amino acids in the plasma decreases, therefore allowing for the transport of
tryptophan from the plasma into the brain. Tryptophan-rich foods include turkey, chick-
en, soy beans and fish. Carbohydrate-rich foods include rice, oats and whole grains.

6. 3. Drink the right beverages
Are you a heavy coffee drinker? You might need to lessen your consumption as caffeine
in known to have a half-life in the human body for an average of three to nine hours. In
fact, in this study, researchers found out that even after six hours of caffeine intake, it
can still disrupt the normal sleep cycle of a healthy individual. Since other beverages
such as sodas and soft drinks also have caffeine, they’re also best avoided. As men-
tioned in our previous post, alcohol might seem like a sedative at first, but it disrupts the
sleep homeostasis of a person.
So what are the right beverages you can drink before sleeping instead? Milk should be
at the top of your list, provided that you’re not lactose intolerant. Milk, along with other
dairy products, contains tryptophan which is a natural sedative. There’s this interesting
study about the sedative effects of night milk, which is simply milk taken from cows dur-
ing night time. Turns out, this type of milk was able to induce a shortened sleep onset
and a longer sleep duration because it contains higher amounts of both tryptophan and
melatonin. You can also indulge in caffeine-free teas or even almond milk, if you’re al-
lergic to dairy milk.

7. 4. Remove hindrances to a good night’s sleep in your bedroom
Your bedroom should be a haven just for sleeping. Your bed should have a comfortable
mattress and some pillows. If it’s summer season, make sure you use the air-condition-
er for an optimal room temperature. If you have a television in the room, move it in the
living room instead. If you have your work desk in the room, transfer it some place else.
Removing all these hindrances can help you reorganize your thoughts. It would make
you feel that your room is truly just a place for sleeping and nothing else.
Want proof that these things can hinder your ability to sleep the night away? Here’s one
and it’s alarming because it was about the relationship of television watching and insuf-
ficient sleep in children. Those children who has bedroom televisions were found to
have significant discrepancies when it comes to sleep sufficiency as compared to chil-
dren without television in their bedrooms. Bringing work to your bedroom could possibly

8. hinder your good night’s sleep as well, since you are constantly stressed out with your
load.
5. Limit your screen time, spend time with your loved ones instead
The internet is perhaps the greatest and widely used invention of our time. Along with it
came other technological advancements like smartphones and tablets. Fun test, count
the number of gadgets that your family has. Chances are, each member of the family
has his or her own gadget to check the latest news or be acquainted with social media.
But screen time has its own disadvantages, it can lead to insomnia during night time
use or even lead one away from his or her loved ones.

9. The negative effects of screen time on sleep quality, onset and duration have long been
established. In this study, it was found that almost all adolescents reported to using
gadgets an hour before sleeping. Their sleep quality, onset and duration were all affect-
ed by the gadget use before bed time. The light emitted by the gadget can cause mental
arousals leading to sleep disruptions. So instead of reaching for your phone before
sleeping, why not indulge in games with your children? Or simply ask them how their
day went, read them a story or help them with their homework.

10. 6. Avoid excessive napping during the day
If you can avoid napping during the day, then you can maximize your tiredness when
evening comes. Some people are constant day nappers, which can affect their sleep-
onset latency during night time. So if you must take a short nap during the day, time it
accordingly, perhaps in the middle of the afternoon and nothing later than that. There’s
nothing wrong with a short 30 to 90 minutes nap, but more than that can affect your
sleeping pattern at night, especially when you take more than one during the day.
This problem commonly occurs to the elderly. With the changes in the physical, physio-
logical and behavioral aspects of their bodies, their circadian rhythm also becomes af-
fected. Thus, both intentional and unintentional day naps can occur. In this study, it was
found that there was a correlation between napping and night time sleeping abilities.
During the day, indulge in activities that can keep you busy to avoid excessive napping.
If you find yourself dozing off whilst watching television, tend the garden instead or in-
vent a new recipe in the kitchen.

11. 7. Be more active during the day
Be more active, take walks during the day, jog during the morning or exercise at least a
three times a week. In a study done by Morgan and colleagues, they found out that indi-
viduals who were more active are at lesser risk of developing insomnia later in life. In
another study, lack of habitual exercise was determined as one of the risks for insomnia
of the Japanese population. Thus, these studies prove that moving less during the day
can contribute to one’s sleeplessness during the night.
It is important though that you time your exercise accordingly. If you intend to do vigor-
ous exercise at night, it might affect your cardiac functioning. This can lead to a longer
sleep onset than one would like. You can time your exercise or workout at least two to
three hours before sleep. Light walking, running, yoga, pilates… These are just some
more of your other options for being more active.

12. Make these items into a checklist
And see if you can change your lifestyle to follow these things through. Hopefully, you
can see positive changes when it comes to your insomnia as well. Make sure you leave
all stresses behind before sleeping as well. Relax and understand that you have a prob-
lem, that you’re willing to resolve them this time. But if these changes still don’t do the
trick for you, it might be time to consult with a psychiatrist or therapist. Perhaps they can
help with diagnosing the kind of insomnia that you have and recommending for further
treatment options to cure it.