Many Americans struggle with getting a full night’s rest. Some are even battling chronic insomnia. Some take to using medication to help them sleep through the night, but there are ways to avoid taking pills for sleep.
Here are a few tips to better prepare your mind and body for a peaceful sleep:
Reduce blue light exposure in the evening. What is blue light? It is the type of light emitted from TV’s, phones, and other electronic devices. This blue light is sneaky, in that it tricks your brain into thinking it is still daytime, preventing it from producing melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that signals to your body that it is time to go to bed. With the blue light hindering melatonin, your body won’t understand that it needs to sleep.
To avoid this, you can wear specialized blue light canceling glasses, set your phone to “nighttime mode,” or download a specific app that has the same effect, or simply turn off electronic-viewing 2 hours before bed.
Don’t consume caffeine late in the day. Coffee is good for waking up in the morning, but it is terrible at slowing your body down before bed. The caffeine in coffee or soft drinks stimulates your nerves, which make them too restless before bed.
Since caffeine can stay in your blood for 6-8 hours, it is recommended not to consume caffeine a minimum of 6 hours before going to sleep.
Reduce daytime naps. It is important to keep your sleep regulated. Going to bed, waking up at consistent times, and trying to minimize naps throughout the day is helpful to maintain regularity. The routine will help your body stay on track with the desired schedule. Relax and clear your mind. It is easy to get frustrated when you can’t fall asleep, but it is essential to keep a peaceful mindset. Try a pre-bed routine, like listening to relaxing music, meditating, yoga, or reading.
Exercise regularly. Regular exercises in the morning or beginning portion of the day have shown to be extremely helpful to get a good night’s sleep. However, try not to exercise within 6 hours of the time you desire to go to sleep. The heightened metabolism and heart rate may make sleep harder to achieve.
What Causes Insomnia?
There are times where an individual could experience chronic insomnia. This means having consistent restless nights over an extended period of time, leaving a person seemingly perpetually exhausted. This could be caused by high stress, depression, high anxiety, PTSD, medications, health problems, and an overall uncomfortable sleep environment.
An uncomfortable sleeping environment could be caused by a bad mattress or poor pillows. This can result in aches and pains that further the difficulty of falling asleep.
Chiropractic Care Can Help Achieve Better Sleeping Patterns
Chiropractic care can assist in resolving aches and pains from insomnia or other sleeping problems. Visiting a chiropractic doctor not only opens up the opportunity for treatment but also for an assessment and recommendation for sleeping arrangements.
At Regenerate Richmond, we offer a variety of chiropractic services, as well as other treatment options that can relieve pains caused by poor sleeping support. If you are interested in learning more about these options or are suffering from pain that keeps you up at night, please contact our office at (804) 740-9300 for a free consultation.