Can't Sleep? Try These 6 Ways To Trick Yourself Asleep
All-natural habits to retrain your brain to get enough sleep
Kate Stone Matheson / Unsplash
Sometimes, sleeping can be hard to do.
All of the anxiety-ridden and sadness-packed thoughts seem to choose the middle of the night to overflow our brains. Insomnia can end up being the perfect storm for you and your mental health. The less sleep you get at night the more foggy your brain is, and the more sluggish your body will be during the day. It can make you start to feel pressure to make yourself fall asleep, which is the worst way to coax your mind to calm down and let you rest.
When you aren’t sleeping, you can start to have:
Difficulty processing, learning and remembering
Intense mood swings
Heightened appetite
A weakened immune system
For most of us, we just need to kick the bad habits that are leading to bad sleep. But sleeplessness can go on for such a long time that you may have to talk to your doctor about it, but start here if you’re losing a few winks over a busy mind. Hopefully you’ll find the restful night of sleep you’ve been dreaming of.
1.Rediscover your bed’s purpose
Remember what your bed is really for: sleeping. It’s easy to let your bed become a normal part of your daily routine. You may watch TV there, work on your laptop from bed, or even have a snack or meal. When you use your bed for something other than sleeping, you’re training your body to associate the bed space with being awake, which is the opposite of what you want at three in the morning when you can’t get yourself to fall asleep. It can be difficult if you don’t have other rooms or spaces to sit for work or hanging out, but if you do it’s worth moving your daytime activities off the bed and start saving it for sleep.
2. Wind down
Throughout the day, our brains are hard at work and going, going, going all the time. They don’t just switch off automatically at night, so we have to do things that can slowly power our brains down and let us relax. Try some deep breathing, listen to some calming music, or give a meditation a try. (Hint: Meditation apps Calm and Headspace have free sleep stories available on Youtube — these are some of our favorite ways to wind down each night.)
3. Stop trying to fall asleep
The longer it takes you to fall asleep, the more your frustration and anxiety can build. You end up being so tense and thinking so much, that it actually pushes relaxation and sleep further away. If you find yourself trying to force sleep, do something relaxing that can refocus your mind towards something else. The less you do, the easier it will become.
4. Keep technology to a minimum
We’ve all heard it before: put your phone away at night. There’s a huge amount of research that shows how harmful tech’s blue light can be to your circadian rhythm and melatonin levels – the key players to a good night’s sleep. For people with mood disorders like bipolar, a disruption in sleep levels can actually trigger their symptoms. Try not to watch TV or look at your phone for an hour (ideally, 2-3 hours) before your bedtime routine. That also applies when you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep — don’t turn to Instagram scrolling for distraction. Instead, try reading a book, do a crossword puzzle, or listen to a podcast or music — just try not to stare at your phone!
5. Don’t keep track of time
Staring at the clock and thinking about how little time you have left to sleep before you need to get up is only going to make you more frustrated, stressed, and awake. And it really doesn’t help you fall back asleep. No matter how tempting it may be, try not to peek at your phone to see what time it is, or think about how you only have an hour left before you need to wake up. It only invites pressure and stress when what you really want is relaxation and peace.
6. Have a routine
Routines can help us stay consistent and productive, but they can also help keep your body’s sleep rhythms on track. Try setting a bedtime for yourself, and stick to it. If you also keep a steady wake up time (yes, even on weekends), you can get yourself used to a schedule that will allow you to feel tired before bed and alert and ready in the morning. Drastically adjusting your sleep schedule by staying up late or sleeping in on the weekend is like fighting jet lag all the time, which isn’t good for your body or mind. Obviously life happens — but when you can, try to stay as consistent as possible.
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Getting a good night of sleep takes practice and consistency. Just remember, you may be undoing years of bad habits, and it may take some time to get back in the rhythm of things. But stick with it! Getting a full night of sleep is one of the essentials in living a mentally healthy life, and with a little work, you can get there.