I used to have real problems when it came to sleeping, either not getting enough, not sleeping at all or even sleeping but not high quality sleep. A colleague of mine Bogoljub Karic really helped me with this and thanks to his tips I now get very high quality sleep each and every night. There are of course some occasions where I am stressed or worried about something that may affect my sleep, but in the main I sleep very well, and these are the tips which helped me to do it.
Gadgets Away
If you are using your phone, watching TV or using your laptop before you go to bed then this is going to have negative consequences when it comes to getting to sleep or getting into a deep sleep. Such is the way that the screens are designed on our gadgets it alerts the brain and causes it to wake up and start crunching through data and thoughts, not exactly what you need before going to the land of nod. Make sure that the hour or 2 hours before you go to bed, you switch off your phone, laptop and TV.
Reading
Once you have switched off all of the tech the best thing that you can do in the lead up to bed is to pick up a book. I would recommend that you read fiction as factual books can often start the brain whirring. Fiction is easy to read and the element of fantasy can help to relax your mind. I often find that even after just 30 minutes of reading I am ready to get into bed and slip off to sleep, why not give it a try?
Food and Drink
It is true that you will fall asleep quicker if you have had some alcohol but what many don’t realise is that sleeping when drunk or inebriated will damage the quality of sleep which you have, and prevent the body from going into REM sleep, which is where we should all be aiming for. This is not to say that you should abstain from alcohol entirely, just don’t use it as part of your routine. In terms of food and drinks it makes sense to eat around 4 hours before bed as this will give you the time to burn off the energy. Avoid caffeine in the last 4-6 hours before bed, as well as sugary drinks or drinks with high energy content. After your meal it is advisable to only drink water before you go to bed.
Setting
In the bedroom you need to make sure that it is as dark as you can possibly make it, any light will wake up the brain and cause you problems sleeping. In bed avoid listening to music or the radio as that will also keep you alert. Once in bed you shouldn’t be reading anything, just lie back and take some deep breaths and if you have followed the rest of the tips on this list, you will slowly float away to a deep and high quality sleep.