This might sound a little strange but the truth is your behaviour can have a major impact on how well you sleep. Everything including what you eat and drink, whether you exercise or not, the medications you take, and how you spend your whole day, especially what you do before bedtime can make you fall asleep, stay asleep, or stay awake till late in the night. The good news is even a slight modifications, in some cases, can mean a difference between a sound sleep and a restless night.
Sleep Hygiene is a term that refers to sleep habits and rituals that help you improve your sleep. And by only following this little series of health sleep habits and rituals, you can get back your sleep. However, despite trying out these sleep tips, if you still find sleeping difficult or wake up feeling cranky and sleepy throughout the day, then we recommend that you seek help from professional sleep doctors.
Quick Sleep Tips
Follow these tips to establish healthy sleep habits:
1. Sleep and wake up at the same time every day. And avoid sleeping late and getting up late.
2. Go to your bed when you feel sleepy
3. If you find sleeping difficult, don’t force yourself – get out of bed and do some reading or listen to some music that helps you relax
4. Try not bringing in TV or other gadgets in your bedroom. Keep it quiet and relaxing
5. Establish relaxing bedtime rituals
6. Don’t use your bed for activities other than sleep and sex
7. Avoid heavy meals before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack
8. Exercise regularly, whether it’s Yoga or gymming or swimming
9. Avoid tea, coffee, drinks, etc. in the late afternoon or evening
In an ideal interaction, your sleep doctor will ask you a couple of questions relating to your sleep habits, your lifestyle, whether you take any medications, your medical history, etc. To confirm whether you’ve a sleep disorder, he or she can also ask you to undergo a sleep study. A sleep study or sleep test is an overnight test where you sleep with some wires attached to your body. The findings reveal your sleep health and help the doctor determine a treatment plan to help you get your share of shuteye.
In India, sleep apnea is a leading cause of poor sleep health. If not treated, it can turn serious and make you a likely candidate for a host of life-threatening diseases including heart attack, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc. Sleep apnea interferes with your breathing and pulls you out of sleep many a times during the night, without you even realizing the same. This leaves you feeling not rested well when you wake up in the morning and thus makes you sleepy during the day. The sleepiness puts you at higher risk of getting into a car accident or workplace accident as you are more likely to fall sleep at wheel or at work, as compared to a person who’s had a sound sleep in the night.
At Sleep Cure Solutions, we as a team are helping people worldwide get better sleep every night. We work with individuals, sleep labs, and hospitals from around the world. If you feel you might have a sleep disorder or know someone in the family who might have a disorder, see our experts.
