How to Sleep Better at Night

We are all short of sleep these days. This is because our days are longer thanks to modern conveniences like electricity and things like the internet and television. We no longer go to bed at sundown and wake up at the crack of dawn. This makes us increasingly tired. It is a vicious circle actually; we sleep late, wake up tired, go through our day without any energy and then carry our sorry selves home. Then we unwind in front of the television or surf the net and go to bed late. This is how we normally go through our lives and this takes its toll on our bodies. I am not taking into consideration certain other reasons for sleep loss, like tending to a small infant or an invalid. Those situations are temporary. Our productivity suffers, our health suffers and we get increasingly irritable and negative so our entire life suffers.

Here are tips on how to sleep better at night. First of all we need to avoid caffeine after 2 p.m. The latte we had with friends before coming home may be the very thing that has got us tossing and turning in our bed. If we need to relax, it is far better to consume something healthy like fruits or a salad. Aerated drinks will also cause sleeplessness. Use aromatherapy. Keep some vanilla essence in your bedroom. It helps in relaxing the body. Do not eat a heavy meal at night. You will have difficulty digesting it and it will make you uncomfortable. One common mistake people make is to have a television or a computer in the bed room. It is tempting to sit up and watch the late night show, but it will cause problems sleeping.

Some people work out at night. That makes your body pepped up and it is extremely hard to wind down and sleep. It is far better to work out in the day. Your body needs to wind down in the night or the sleep rhythm will be upset. If you need to exercise in the night, consider a long slow walk. You can walk with your spouse or a buddy, rehash your day and then come back relaxed and ready for bed. Do not take your problems to bed with you. Write them down and get them out of your system. Problems tend to get magnified in the night. This makes them worse because you cannot deal with them until the next day anyway. Take a warm bath, it will relax you and prepare you for slumber. If for some reason you are unable to sleep, get up and out of bed. Your bed is meant for sleeping, not for worrying. Do not keep the light on in the bedroom. It confuses the body.

Sleep is extremely important. The body repairs itself and rejuvenates during the natural sleep. Popping a sleeping pill in the night just knocks you out without the benefit of a good natural sleep. If you are insomniac, consult a doctor and do not rely on alcohol or self medication to get out of the situation.