These science-backed
sleep tips can help you beat insomnia—fast.
TAKE THE TIME TO POWER DOWN: It's
pretty much impossible to slip into slumber on command. "Sleep is not an
on-off switch," Michael Breus, PhD, author of “Good Night: The Sleep
Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health”, tells Health. "It's like slowly
taking the foot off the gas and putting on the break—there's a process that has
to occur." One hour before bed, begin to gradually power down. Spend 20
minutes preparing for the next day—making lunches, laying out clothes. Spend
the next 20 minutes washing up and getting into PJs, and then use the last 20
minutes for some type of soothing activity that brings on the z's.
FIND A REGULAR ROUTINE: No
matter how tempting it may be to sleep in on weekends, it's better to wake up
at your normal time. "This is so important," Cathy Goldstein, MD,
neurologist at the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Michigan, tells Health. "If we shift our
sleep and wake times later—for example, sleeping 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., during the
week and 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. during the weekends—we push our internal clock later,
then come Monday morning it's like we've flown from California to New York over
the weekend—we have social jet lag." As a bonus, if you get up at the same
time every single day you may stop needing an alarm clock. (Or at least you'll
reach for the snooze button less.)
USE DARKNESS AND LIGHT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE:
Reinforce a regular sleep pattern by taking cues
from the environment, Lawrence Epstein, MD, author of The Harvard Medical
School Guide to a Good Night's Sleep, tells Health. At dinnertime, start
to mimic the sunset outside in your own home by dimming the lights—this will
promote the body's production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep.
Then sleep in total darkness. In the morning, expose yourself to bright light
to shut down melatonin production and rev your body for daytime. In a 2015 Study
From University of Washington, that compared two modern hunter-gatherer
cultures—one with access to electricity and one without—the culture without
electricity slept an extra hour each night on average because they got sleepy
when the sun went down and didn't use artificial light to delay sleep.
CREATE A SLEEP SANCTUARY: Make your bedroom a haven for sleep: Feather your nest with soft sheets, warm blankets and a pillow that provides adequate support for your regular sleep position. Block out as much light as possible using blackout shades or other heavy curtains, since light can be detected even through closed eyelids—and the brain won't produce melatonin if it's confused between day and night. While you're at it, banish the TV. "Too many of our patients are doing everything in bed except sleeping," Samuel L. Krachman, MD, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, tells Health. "They're watching TV in bed, which is bad because you start associating the bedroom with things other than sleep and romance." You should also remove all devices that could beep, ping, or buzz in the night, disturbing your slumber.
KEEP YOUR BEDROOM COOL: During sleep, our core body temperature dips, allowing us to slip into restorative REM and slow-wave sleep. A 2012 study from the Journal of Physiological Anthropology confirms that when we crank up the heat, we wake up more often and sleep less deeply. "Heat can delay sleep and lead to sleep fragmentation," Ana Krieger, MD, medical director of the Weill Cornell Center for Sleep Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, tells Health. Keep the thermostat a couple degrees cooler than during the day—68 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect, she says.
BAN STRESS IN THE BEDROOM: If your nightstand is piled high with professional journals to read or student papers to grade, we're talking to you. Physical reminders of work pressures will not do you any favors in the sleep department. "I keep anything that is activating or potentially stressful out of the bedroom," says Dr. Goldstein, noting that any kind of clutter can be stressful. "I find a neat sleep space is key to allowing me to turn off my thoughts and wind down at night. No computer, desk or paperwork can be found in my bedroom." That also means relocating any items that remind you of unfinished projects, like the tool kit for fixing the bathroom lock that's been broken for eight months and the shopping bags awaiting return.
IMPOSE A KITCHEN CURFEW: It's a good idea to close the kitchen well before lights out. "If dinner is your largest meal of the day, make sure it's at least two the three hours before bedtime," says Dr. Krieger—otherwise, you could force your digestive system to work overtime in a way that keeps you up. This is especially true with meals that are large, spicy, rich, or fatty, which can exacerbate acid reflux, another sleep-buster.
SNACK SMART: If your stomach is growling late at night, that could interfere with sleep, too, so snacks are okay as long as you choose wisely. Bypass the leftover pizza and Chinese food and opt for foods with the dynamic duo of tryptophan, an amino acid the brain uses to make sleep-inducing serotonin, and carbohydrates, which will make the tryptophan more available to your brain. Try whole grain crackers and peanut butter, cereal with almond milk or yogurt, or a handful of almonds and a banana.
CONSIDER A PRE-BEDTIME MEDITATION: "Stress and anxiety can play a big role in insomnia," says Dr. Bae. To quiet the mental noise, consider meditation. Research from the British Psychological Society has found that mindfulness meditation, which helps you become aware of your thoughts and emotions in a positive way, can reduce the kind of ruminating that keeps us up at night. A 2011 study found mindfulness-based stress reduction, a similar type of meditation, to be as effective as a prescription drug in a small group of people with insomnia. Check out the great collection of sleep apps on iTunes, including Mindfulness Meditation by Stephan Bodian, author of Meditation for Dummies.
STRIKE A YOGA POSE: If meditation isn't shushing your monkey mind, don't worry: It's really your body—your breathing and heart rate specifically—that have to slow. "You can't enter into a state of unconsciousness if your heart is racing," Breus says. Certain yoga moves can put your mind at ease, steady your breath, and reduce muscle tension without revving up the heart. Lauren Imparato, author of RETOX: Yoga Food Attitude Healthy Solutions for Real Life, recommends the gentle, restorative "Legs Up the Wall" pose: Lie on the bed, bringing your butt to the wall. Lift your legs up onto the wall, with feet touching or flopped out to the sides. Open your arms wide, palms up, keeping your shoulders back and your chest open. Close your eyes and inhale through your nose while slowly counting to four, then exhale while counting back down to one. Continue for 10 minutes or until you feel fully relaxed.
SWITCH TO CAFFEINE-FREE DRINKS AFTER A CERTAIN TIME: No one takes a shot of espresso before bed and then expects to doze off, but drinking caffeinated beverages in the afternoon can also sabotage sleep. According to a 2015 study in Science Translational Medicine, caffeine not only gives us a jolt of energy but actually delays the circadian clock that tells us when to get ready for sleep and when to prepare to wake up. Beware of caffeine hiding in some of your favorite non-java drinks, including some "herbal teas" that actually contain black, green, or white tea, bottled Kombucha tea, Snapple iced teas, flavored waters, and even orange soda, root beer, and cream sodas. Check the labels and plan to stop sipping any drinks with caffeine for four to six hours before lights out, so the effects have plenty of time to wear off.
SKIP THE NIGHTCAP: Yes, red wine is chock-full of healthful antioxidants, may protect your heart, and can mellow you out after a tough day. But if you toast too close to bedtime, you could ruin the second half of your sleep cycle. That's because alcohol's sedative effects wear off after a few hours, increasing the chance you'll wake up and decreasing the amount of time you spend in a deep sleep, John E. Brown, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland, tells Health. If you like an adult beverage in the evening, have it with dinner, and drink in moderation, so it'll be out of your system by the time you're ready to turn in.
STEP AWAY FROM THE SCREEN: Yes, we're giving your electronics a curfew. About an hour before lights out, say goodnight to all your devices—TV, computer, smartphone, and tablet. "Our body's internal clock is highly sensitive to the blue spectrum light emitted by the screens," says Dr. Goldstein, because it sends a signal to the brain that it's daytime. A 2014 Harvard University Study showed that screen time before bed suppresses melatonin secretion, makes falling asleep take longer, and leaves you feeling less alert the next morning. If you must email, Facetime, or catch up on Insecure before bed, Dr. Krieger suggests wearing goggles that filter out the blue light to reduce its stimulating effect.
DON’T WORKOUT TOO CLOSE TO BEDTIME: Studies show that people sleep better and feel more alert during the day if they work out regularly—but timing matters. If you try to hop into bed still sticky from a long or super-intense workout, you'll probably be too jacked up to sleep, thanks to the release of dopamine, the feel-good neurotransmitter that also makes you feel alert. Dr. Krieger recommends ending exercise sessions three hours before bedtime. If you must work out in the evening, consider lower-impact exercises like yoga, Pilates, or tai chi.
UPGRADE FROM WARM MILK: Don't drink dairy before bed (sorry, grandma) because its high sugar content will spike your cortisol. For a grown-up version, Dr. Breus recommends his own recipe for banana tea. "Bananas have a large amount magnesium, which is incredibly calming," he says. The secret is in the peel, where there's three times the amount of magnesium as in the fruit, plus antioxidants that increase absorption. Take a banana with the peel on and cut off the tips. Boil it in four cups of for five to six minutes, then steep for another five minutes. Add honey and cinnamon to taste. Hate bananas? Brew some decaffeinated green tea, which contains the relaxing agent L-theanine, or try passionfruit tea, which contains chemicals called harman alkaloids that work on the nervous system to make you feel sleepy, according to an Australian study.
PRESS PLAY ON SOME SOOTHING TUNES: Whether it's jazz, classical, new age, world, or the latest from Adele, soft, calming music has been shown to not only help you fall asleep, but also improve the length and depth of your sleep, likely by lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. In a 2013 review of previously published studies, music improved sleep quality among people with chronic sleep disorders, and the benefits increased over time. Choose a soothing music app that matches your taste or try Pandora's classical music station, as that genre—specifically, works by Brahms, Handel, Mozart, Strauss and Bach, has been shown to slow brainwaves and put listeners in a meditative mood.
TAKE A BATH: A hot soak in the bathtub is incredibly relaxing—but beyond that, baths can manipulate our body temperature in a way that prepares us for sleep. "A hot bath may promote sleep because our core body temperature rises and then falls when we step out, mimicking what happens naturally when we get drowsy," says Dr. Bae.
GRAB A PAGE-TURNER: Good old-fashioned reading can help you relax, in part because getting engrossed in a story frees your mind from the clutches of day-to-day stresses. But, sorry, your Kindle doesn't count. In a 2014 study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, paperback readers were found to fall asleep 10 minutes earlier than people who got their lit fix from a digital download. So whether you choose a somber biography or rollicking fiction, just make sure it's a page-turner, literally.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LAVENDER SCENTS: You may have a signature scent for daytime, but come evening, try spritzing lavender. In one small study Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, people who sniffed the essential oil before bed slumbered more deeply and reported feeling more energetic the following morning. And in other small studies from England and Korea, the herb has helped people with mild insomnia. More research is needed to determine whether lavender really does help with drifting into dreamland, but in the meantime, it's easy enough to try sprinkling a drop or two of essential oil on a tissue and placing it under your pillow.
BLOCK OUT NOISE: Background sounds at night—buses, train whistles, cars driving by, clanging radiators, doors closing, or your neighbor's TV—may not be loud enough to wake you up, but they can rouse you out of deep, restorative sleep. Nighttime noise has also been shown to raise your blood pressure, even during sleep, triggering the release of stress hormones, according to a European study. While the researchers tested participants living near airports, other sounds, such as traffic and snoring, can have a similar effect. Consider drowning them out with a fan or white noise—or better, pink noise, which is less harsh. In a 2013 study in the journal Neuron, 75% of people who listened to pink noise slept more restfully compared to people who slept with no noise. The researchers say it slows and regulates brain waves for deeper sleep.
KICK OUT THE DOG
(OR CAT): As much as you love to snuggle with Spot (or Mittens), animals
in the bed can deprive you of shut-eye. A 2015 Mayo Clinic poll found that 20%
of pet owners believe their animal disturbs their slumber—mostly by snoring,
wandering, and whimpering. On the other hand, the same study found that some pet
owners sleep better with a pet—because it makes them feel more safe and secure. Bottom line: Evaluate your pet's effect on
your sleep by comparing how you feel after a few nights with Fido versus a few
nights without. "Everyone has a different tolerance level for pets in the
bedroom, so both bed partners must agree on who gets to sleep where," says
Dr. Breus. "If pets don't disturb anyone's sleep, then there's usually no
harm."
GET IT ON BEFORE BED: A 2014 poll found that one
in six people nod off more quickly after sex—for so many reasons. Not only can
the physical and emotional intimacy help quell feelings of anxiety and
depression that could otherwise keep you up, but having an orgasm triggers the
release of snooze-friendly hormones: Prolactin promotes relaxation and
drowsiness, oxytocin lowers output of the stress hormone cortisol, and
according to a research review in the Journal of Women's Health, kicked-up
estrogen enhances the REM cycle for deeper sleep. As a bonus, sleep also
enhances sex, per a 2015 study: After getting just one extra hour of sleep for
two weeks, female participants had a higher libido and a 14% greater chance of
having sex the next day.
WEAR SOCKS:
If cold feet keep you up at night, don a pair of
warm, soft socks. (We like wool, cashmere, or fleece.) According to the
National Sleep Foundation, heating cold feet causes dilation of the blood
vessels, which may signal to the brain that it's bedtime. The more dilation you
have in your hands and feet, the faster you can drift off.
LEAVE YOUR TROUBLES
BEHIND: Most days, we don't give
ourselves permission to stop, think, and process what's happened during the
day. "So guess when most people end up doing that? At night, when it's
quiet and the lights are turned out," Deirdre Conroy, PhD, clinical
director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the University of Michigan
Health System, tells Health.
Conroy recommends allotting time during the day—it can be just 15 minutes, at
least two hours before bed, to make a "worry" list and come up with
possible solutions to your concerns. "This way, you have at least begun to
acknowledge all of those racing thoughts before bedtime," she says.
RESOLVE CONFLICTS:
You've probably heard the advice, "Never go to
bed angry," and it's good for more than just a happy marriage. A 2015
study in PLOS One the journal showed that emotions, specifically negative ones,
reduce REM sleep, the phase of sleep during which memories are consolidated and
there's a mental reset. Take some time before your Power Down Hour to make
peace—or at least agree to table the conflict that could otherwise zap your
Z's.
PLAY A BRAIN
GAME: If your brain is still
really fired up right before bed, distract it with a task: Challenge yourself
to think of as many sleep-related words—like cozy, resting, and relaxed—as
possible. In a study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, people who
came up with restful words slept some 62% longer than their counterparts who
didn't. If you're more of a math person, Breus suggests counting backward from
300 by threes. "It's so doggone boring that you fall asleep," he
says.
TAP INTO THE
POWER OF SUGGESTION: Hypnosis
(or hypnotherapy) has amazing powers when it comes to sleep. In a 2014 study in
the journal Sleep, women who listened to a sleep-promoting audio tape
containing hypnotic suggestions cut back their awake time by two-thirds, and
spent about 80% more time in deep sleep compared to women who didn't get
hypnotic suggestion. To sample hypnotherapy at home, try an app like Sleep
Deeply, which was designed by hypnotherapists.
CHECK YOUR
MEDICINE CABINET: Certain
prescription and over-the-counter drugs can sabotage your sleep. "Some
medications act like stimulants for the brain, so be careful when taking them
too late in the afternoon," says Dr. Krieger. Common culprits include
pseudoephedrine (a decongestant), bronchodilators (for asthma), beta blockers
(for cardiac issues), certain antidepressants, amphetamines (sometimes used to
treat ADHD, obesity, and narcolepsy), some blood pressure medications, and
anti-cholinergics (used for asthma, incontinence, and muscle spasms). Don't
quit these meds without talking to your doctor first—you may be able to switch
to a morning dose that won't interfere with sleep.
CONSIDER
MELATONIN: Taking melatonin may
help you get back on a good sleep cycle, says Dr. Bae. In a 2013 research
review in PLoS One,
melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that sets our sleep-wake cycles,
helped people fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and improved their sleep
quality. Dr. Bae recommends 0.3 to 0.5 milligrams 2 hours before bedtime. You'll
see other herbal sleep aids on the market, such as valerian and L-Theanine, but
evidence for treating insomnia is inconclusive, and you must talk to your
doctor before taking herbs to ensure they will not interact with medications
you may be taking.
SILENCE THE
SNORING: If you snore or wake up
with a headache or dry mouth, you could have sleep apnea, which significantly
dings your sleep quality. Treatments range from low-tech—raising the back of
your bed by two inches or sleeping on your side—to CPAP, where a face mask is
used to deliver mild air pressure while you sleep, or a dental device that
repositions your jaw and tongue to keep the airway open. Losing weight helps,
too. If it's your partner who's sawing wood while you’re trying to snooze, send
him in for treatment or pop in a good pair of earplugs before climbing into
bed.
STICK TO A SCHEDULE: According to W. Chris Winter, MD, medical director of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center, one key to better sleep is waking up at the same time every day (weekends included—sorry!). "Our circadian rhythm relies on time cues," Dr. Winter explained to Health in an email. "Keeping a consistent wake-up time helps your brain understand not only when the day begins, but also anticipate when it will end." Translation: Rising and shining at the same time each day can help you doze off around the same time each night, too.
LET YOURSELF BE BORED: You’re probably not going to fall asleep while watching a thriller. "Most people find it easier to fall asleep when their mind is calm," says Dr. Winter. "For some, disturbing images or unsettling content can create anxiety which may prolong sleep onset." Instead, do something before bed that will soothe you, such reading an ultra-dense historical biography or listening to a guided meditation to prep your mind and body for rest.
SHARE SOME GOOD NEWS: Yep, you read that right. A 2017 study found that when partners shared good news from the day with their significant other—and received a supportive response—they fell asleep faster and also slept better that night. Those who received a less-enthusiastic reaction from their S.O. didn’t reap the same sleep benefits. The takeaway: Celebrating your partner’s daily successes could not only strengthen your bond, but also benefit their sleep.
INVEST IN YOUR REST: For most people, conditions need to be just right in order for them to get their snooze on. (If you’re one of the lucky ones who can nap anywhere, we’re jealous.) To soothe your sleep woes, first ID the factor that’s messing with your shut-eye most, then find a product that addresses that issue. Is there light coming through the cracks in your curtains? Try a silk eye mask. Loud neighbors? Invest in a white noise machine, like the popular Lectrofan.
REVIEWED BY: Aviva Patz, Health Magazine, Updated June 24, 2020
Much Love, Dr.Shermaine, #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2LiveWell #FeelFree2SignUpAndFollow
The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.
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