Practical Strategies for Better-Quality Sleep
Practical Strategies for Better-Quality Sleep
1 . Identify Barriers
First , reflect on what might be getting in the way .
● Are there stressful things going on in your life ? Are there problem-solving or stress-management techniques that you could use to manage your stress ?
● Are you revenge-procrastinating ? That is , delaying bedtime because you don ’ t get enough time to yourself during the day . Build more time into your schedule for relaxing , hobbies , and decompressing without cutting into sleep .
● Have you experienced any big life events ? Any change takes time to adapt to and can affect your sleep quality . Try to be easier on yourself and give yourself time to adjust .
2 . Work On Your Sleep Hygiene
Take concrete steps to improve your sleep hygiene , which involves building habits and an environment for good-quality sleep .
Good sleep habits involve consistency , association , and repetition . Our minds and bodies are like computers that we can program to associate bed and bedtime with a calm , relaxed , “ goto-sleep ” state .
● Try to go to bed around the same time every day , and get up around the same time even if you go to bed later than usual .
● Build a consistent evening routine to wind down ( e . g ., take a shower , brush your teeth , read ). Getting out of a warm shower can help your core temperature drop , which mimics what happens during sleep and can kick-start the process .
● Avoid big meals , exercise , or any substances before bed . Caffeine and alcohol have long halflives , which means they take several hours to break down . Caffeine more obviously disrupts your sleep , but alcohol can be deceiving — it ’ s a sedative and may help you fall asleep , but it disrupts the quality of that sleep ( e . g ., by keeping your heart rate up and your system engaged in breaking the alcohol down ).
● Keep the bed for sex and sleep ! Don ’ t work on your laptop in bed or do any other activities that get your mind whirring . If you can ’ t sleep because your brain is racing , and it feels like it ’ s been more than twenty minutes , get out of bed and do a low-stimulation activity ( e . g ., read in low light ) before trying again . And finally , don ’ t check the clock ! That can trigger thoughts that can activate your brain instead of winding it down .
In general , a good sleep environment involves low temperature , light , and noise . For example :
● Keep your bedroom on the cooler side .
● Keep your bedroom as dark as possible , and stay off devices that emit light close to bedtime that can trigger the ‘ wake-up ’ chemical process in our bodies .
● Keep your bedroom as quiet as possible , or with consistent and low-level background noise ( e . g ., white noise , a fan ).
3 . Keep Calm and Dream On
Finally , don ’ t panic ! It ’ s normal to experience sleep disruption from time to time , and our bodies are very capable of ‘ resetting ’ themselves . Take action when it becomes a chronic concern — this may require a bit of trial and error .
If you find yourself grappling with sleep , don ’ t hesitate to reach out ! A wide range of wellestablished , effective supports are available , such as cognitive behavioural therapy , help from your family doctor , or an appointment with a specialized sleep clinic .
ARTACares is included at no additional cost with all ARTA Extended Health Care Benefit Plans and is provided by HumanaCare , an Alberta-based health and wellness provider with more than thirty-five years of Canadian health-care experience . For more information , visit wellness . mylifeexpert . com / login / artacares . news & views SPRING 2024 | 55