Getting sound sleep at night ensures that your mind and body are getting the required amount of rest. Dr. Archana Batra, a Dietitian, Physiotherapist, and Certified Diabetes Educator gives you simple and proven tricks to help you bring a good night sleep.
After the occurrence of lockdown, we are stuck at our homes and working from home. This new work structure leaves us with more brain work and less physical activity. As a result, we are experiencing lack of sleep, irritation, frustration, lack of concentration, along with other health hazards. Here are some simple proven tricks to get undisturbed sleep at night.
Completely avoid caffeine and alcohol: Too much intake of caffeine is harmful for undisturbed sleep at night. Caffeine is known to reduce fatigue and improves alertness. It certainly has a disastrous effect on the sleep pattern. It is okay to have 3-4 cups of coffee a day if you cannot quit it. Alcohol also takes its toll on the body by leaving negative effects like nausea, restlessness, or hangover. Replace such beverages with green tea or chamomile tea. The antioxidants will keep the system toxin free which helps to get a peaceful sleep.
Follow same sleep timing: Try to follow a fixed timing to go to bed and waking up in the morning. By doing this, you will be able to coordinate with the internal clock and get sound sleep at night. It will improve the efficiency of the circadian rhythm of the body which alerts the body for sleep. Your body will get used to this system and you will end up getting the desired amount of sleep at night.
Healthy food options for undisturbed sleep: To ensure an undisturbed sleep of 7-8 hours, you can have warm milk with one teaspoon honey and few almonds before going to bed. Fruits with tryptophan such as bananas, cherries, etc are very good for sleep. Other hand almonds, omega 3 enriched walnuts and flaxseeds are useful for a healthy sleeping pattern.
Say no to long day napping: While it is proven that a short duration of napping helps to improve concentration and alertness. However, if you tend to get consistent and long daytime naps, it will leave effects on the night sleep. It limits the physical activities which lead to obesity. In such cases, you can consider eliminating the day napping completely or can minimize the duration of the naps.
Push the electronic gadgets aside: Before 3-4 hours before going to bed, you should keep the electronic gadgets aside. They involve the concentration completely and make your brain work towards it. It is good to read before going to bed but the harmful rays from the e-books dry out the eyes and disrupts the sleep. Detach yourself from any mind work and let your brain calm down slowly.
Keep the last meal light: As we know that high carb meals help to get the sleep faster but they do not help in getting undisturbed sleep. Even if you are having high carb meal at night, try to eat at least 4-5 hours before going to bed. Instead of it, you can opt for low carb and high fat meals as both the meals are of same amount of calorie and are easily digestible. This meal can include clear vegetable soup with roasted chicken or baked fish.
Do yoga and meditation in the evening: Practicing of mindfulness such as yoga and meditation help to reduce the anxiety to a large extent. Try to do these activities later in the evening after a long hectic day. Yoga and meditation increase melatonin level in body which helps to create drowsiness and helps to get sound sleep. They effectively release the day long stress and improve the breathing pattern which increases the chances of falling asleep.
Let the quick shower do the magic: Taking showers before going to bed helps in getting the undisrupted sleep by relaxing the body and soothing the mind. You should choose the type of shower which acts well for you-hot or cold. You can use aromatic essential oils like lavender or argon oil to increase the effectiveness if you are taking hot showers. It is always recommended to take lukewarm showers before bed. It also releases joint pain.
Conclusion
Along with abiding by the above-mentioned tips, make sure to exercise daily so that you can lose calorie and energy sufficient to fall asleep quickly at night. It is better to take help of the natural remedies. However, sleeplessness for a longer period often leads to other health hazards. Therefore, if you see nothing helping you naturally, you should take medical help immediately without any negligence.
