Losing a night’s sleep can be exasperating the next day. It leaves us with fatigue throughout the next day and affects our productivity adversely. The sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity makes a lot of us prone to insomnia. Lack of proper sleep is one the main reason as to why people develop health complications even at an young age. Disturbed sleep or breaking the sleep cycle will pave to long term insomnia.
Though there are treatments available for insomnia, it is essential to avoid it first place. Long term insomnia can lead to adverse health complications. Before getting into the solutions for insomnia, let’s get to the basics and find out the reasons for it.
Reasons for Insomnia
1. Stress
When you are under stress or duress of any kind, it really clogs your mind. Excess amounts of cortisol can negatively affect your sleep cycle. Melatonin is a hormone responsible for sleep-wake cycle. Being under duress can affect melatonin secretion which in-turn affects your sleep-wake cycle.
You can avoid this by practicing meditation or some other mind relaxing technique before going to bed. Playing skill based games like rummy or poker helps you alleviate stress and feel rejuvenated.
2. Not Sleeping in the right posture
If you are sleeping in a clumsy or slouchy position, you are most likely to suffer from sleep deprivation and body ache. Posture is very important to have a sound sleep. Since the position varies from person to person, check the one that suits you and always sleep in that position.
3. Having Caffeine or other stimulants
Caffeine is a stimulant, it activates your brain. So, it is important that you do not consume any coffee for atleast two hours prior to sleeping.
4. Noisy environment
If your sleep environment is noisy, you may find it hard to sleep. For example, sleeping in a room where TV runs or rooms where there is too much light, may affect your sleep. Ensure you sleep in a dark and cozy place.
To relieve yourself from insomnia, practice these following activities
1. Sleep at the same time everyday
It is good to sleep at the same time everyday. If you sleep at different time everyday, it affects your sleep rhythm. As sleep involves several stages, it is important that you stick to a particular timing so that your body gets tuned to it.
2. Avoid mobile phones prior to sleep
One of the primary reasons as to why so many youngsters suffer from insomnia is their obile addiction. A study concludes excessive use of mobile phone during bed time adversely affects the quality of sleep.
3. Read a book
Instead of watching TV or films through your mobile, you can read a book. Books are always wisdom. A good 10-15 minutes per day read would be suffice as it would allow you to enter the world of fantasy.
4. Go for a walk
Going to nap immediately after dinner is asking for trouble. It may lead to several health related complications like obesity and digestion related diseases like GERD. Ensure you walk for some time after dinner. Though it need not be an aggressive walk like your morning walk, doing so at a moderate speed will tire your body and make you ready for sleep. You can also play some skill-enhancing games like puzzle or 13 card rummy prior to going to sleep. Apart from relieving stress and keeping you clear minded, games like classic rummy also provide a chance to win real cash.
Beating Insomnia is not an impossible task. You need to really commit yourself to come out of it. Considering the adverse health complications it could bring in, you can just prevent it first hand rather than going for cure. Following these activities could steer you right in that direction.
