How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

The following topic outlines a sort of “plan” of the measures that you can take for the best chance of getting proper sleep. However, if you have sleeping problems, you need to assess yourself for the possibility of having a sleep disorder. If you have any or all of the following symptoms, we recommend you to go and see your doctor for a proper assessment of your sleeping problem:

• Feeling tired or sleepy during the day even with complete sleep
• Regularly having trouble falling or staying asleep
• Your sleeping problem has been going on for a few months now
• You have a family history of sleep disorder
• Breathing gets interrupted during sleep

You need to realise and remember that proper sleep is very important for your body. Having this priority set in your mind will definitely motivate you in making the following lifestyle and habit changes, and keeping these changes consistent to stop you from going back to having an unhealthy lifestyle. Once you value the importance of sleep and its benefits, you should be able to integrate the following changes in your life slowly but easily:

Regular exercise

According to research, exercise can provide the following benefits:
◦ Falling asleep faster
◦ Waking up less often during the night

Having a healthy diet and maintain adequate hydration

Try maintaining a high-fibre, low-fat diet. This includes whole grains, vegetables and fruits, and eating less red meat. Also try to not drink too much or too little water before you go to sleep.

Avoid substances that affect sleep:

◦ Caffeine
◦ Alcohol – it may help you go to sleep easier, but at the expense of lower quality of sleep. Try not to drink too much alcohol and have your last drink at least a few hours before bedtime.
◦ Smoking – nicotine in cigarettes is a stimulant, and withdrawal from nicotine can wake you up during the night.
◦ Spicy or fatty food before bedtime – these can give you indigestion that will give you discomfort especially when you are lying down.

Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule

It conditions the body to set up a consistent rhythm so that it knows when to go to sleep and when to wake up. Avoid frequent naps as well, especially if you find it hard to sleep at night after having a couple of naps during the day.

Don’t do any non-sleep activities on the bed

Reserve the bed for sleeping. If you want to eat a snack, watch television or browse your social media on your phone, don’t do it on your bed. If you try to sleep on your bed but you just can’t go to sleep, don’t stay on your bed; get out of the bed and do some calming activities. You can go back to bed once you get sleepy again.

Modify your bedroom to create an environment conducive for sleeping

This includes:
◦ Controlling background noise. Earplugs can help if your neighbourhood is noisy. You can also play “white noise” in your bedroom to blot out noises.
◦ Keep your bedroom as dark as possible.
◦ Find ways to maintain a comfortable temperature and humidity throughout the night.
◦ Buy a better bed. You will spend a significant chunk of your life on your bed, so getting a good one is worth the investment.

Go to Sleep Category

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