4 Tips for Improving Sleep and Insomnia

​​Insomnia and difficulty sleeping affect many people.  As someone who has personally struggled with insomnia and difficulty sleeping, I know what it’s like to wake up wide awake at 3am and not be able to go back to sleep. It’s an awful feeling laying there awake knowing that I need to get back to sleep and function the next day. Yet getting back to sleep isn’t always as easy as we’d like. I’ve worked with a lot of people that have struggled with this issue and I would like to share my tips and tricks that may help.

1. It’s important to keep a consistent sleep schedule. Going to bed at 3am one night and then trying to sleep at 10pm another night the same week is going to be hard to do and will mess with your natural sleep cycle.  Same thing with sleeping in- waking up super early one day and sleeping in several hours later the next is not good for your sleep. What about weekends? Still try to go to bed and wake up at times as close as possible to your normal sleep schedule. (I know life happens and we can’t keep things perfectly the same with our sleep schedules- just try your best and it can make a difference).

2. Use your bed only for sleep and intimacy.  Don’t use your bed for eating, working, writing emails, doing work, homework, video games, or watching TV. Try to do these activities in another room. I also don’t recommend using a cell phone in bed, but if you do turn on a blue light filter on your phone. There are free apps for blue light filters.  The blue light coming from electronic screens can keep people awake. If you have to do non-sleep activities in your room, sit on the floor, a chair, or a cushion that is not on your bed. This distinction is important for training your brain that your bed is for sleep only.  This can help you fall asleep easier and help your brain ease into sleep because it knows its cue that bed=sleep, not bed=sleep+work+school+TV+video games, etc.

3. Practice relaxation. There are tons of free smartphone apps that have been really helpful for myself and for other people I’ve worked with.  You can search key terms like “relaxation”, “sleep”, “meditation” or “nature sounds” in Google Play or your Apple store to find these apps.  Some of my favorites are Insight Timer and Qi Gong Meditation Relaxation apps. You can listen to one of these apps before bed to help ease into sleep. Just make sure your phone is turned upside down or have the screen off so the light is not facing you and keeping you awake.
Another option for those of you that wake up in the middle of the night is to have one of your relaxation recordings or meditations ready to go before you go to sleep. This way if you wake up in the middle of the night, you will just have to hit “play” on your phone and then roll over and try to relax back into sleep- you won’t have to search around on your phone and wake yourself up even more with the stimulation and light on your phone.

4. Use background or white noise.  There are several options for this including soft music, nature sounds, white noise machines, and using a fan. I personally use the Sound+Sleep Machine and love it!  The sound quality is excellent and it has several options for white noise, background noise, or nature sounds. My favorite is the ocean waves option and it sounds very authentic.  The noises are soothing and relaxing and may help ease someone back to sleep if they wake up during the middle of the night. I also like the Sound+Sleep Machine because it can be used as a distress tolerance tool, meaning that someone can listen to it during non-sleep times when upset to help them calm down when anxious or upset. If you prefer just white noise with no nature sounds, the Marpac Dohm-DS All-Natural Sound Machine can be a good option.
Another reason to have white or background noise during sleep is to reduce sensitivity to waking up to other noises- such as a housemate getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, or traffic noises outside.

I hope some of these tips were helpful! Stay tuned for more tips in further blog posts.
-Rondale