ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to sleep well and wake refreshed

Updated on January 20, 2010

Getting a good night of restful sleep is essential for health and wellbeing.

The importance of sleep

Sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. While the odd bad nights sleep or jet lag when travelling will not do any harm prolonged problems with sleeping can seriously impact on your life and both physical and mental health. Insufficient, irregular or disrupted sleep will quickly start to impact on your mood, performance in both physical and mental tasks and can lead to stress and anxiety; further exacerbating the problem.

I used to be one of those charmed folk who routinely sleep like a baby and awake rested and refreshed for the new day. When you're enjoying such easy and deep sleep you don't realise how lucky you are! Whether it is getting older, having young kids, feeling more stress or likely a combination of all of the above, sadly I can longer hit the pillow assured of a solid eight hours shut eye. What keeps me awake at night? Well I'm not a sleep deprivation expert so this hub is essentially the thoughts of an occasionally afflicted layman from my personal perspectives on what stops me sleeping and what can help ensure a good nights sleep. I suspect, in general terms, the same issues apply for many people who have some trouble sleeping. Trying to implement some of the tips below may help you sleep better. If, however, you are suffering serious sleep deprivation and insomnia problems you should of course visit your doctor for help and advice.

What causes sleep problems?

Before looking at some things you can do to help ensure better sleep it is worth reflecting on possible causes for not sleeping well. A lot of the things that can prevent us from enjoying a rejuvenating sleep are lifestyle issues that contribute towards poor physical health and fitness and/or stress and anxiety; all of which conspires to keep us awake at night. Personally I always favour initially trying to 'fix' things naturally whenever possible before resorting to remedies and/or medication. If its possible to work out things you can change in your lifestyle and habits that will help you sleep better this should be tried first. Granted it is not always easy, and is always easier said, or written, than done! However if you start to find sleep easier after making some changes, you'll be glad you made the effort!

To get a good night's sleep you really need to go to bed having prepared for sleep. Both your body and your mind need to be ready for sleep and the lifestyles that many of us now lead do not really facilitate this! Ideally you've spent a physically active and mentally stimulating day followed by a period of unwinding and finally relaxation before retiring for sleep. If you think about your days I'll bet many don't really follow this pattern! All too frequently we miss out elements of a healthy day in terms of preparing for sleep and often are out of synch with what our bodies would really like to be doing.

I know many of my days do not really include as much exercise as they should, certainly involve too much stimulation from coffee and often alcohol and don't wind down in a relaxing way most conducive to sleep. When I've tackled some, or all, of these issues I have usually noticed benefits in terms of improved sleep, so I would recommend considering where you can make some adjustments in your daily lifestlye if you want to sleep better.

The video may be funny, but suffering from sleep deprivation isn't.

Insomniac trying to sleep

Struggling to sleep can be counterproductive. It may be better to get up and do a restful activity until you feel sleepy than trying to "count sheep" lying in bed.
Struggling to sleep can be counterproductive. It may be better to get up and do a restful activity until you feel sleepy than trying to "count sheep" lying in bed.

The usual Insomnia Suspects

Here's a list of things that can cause problems with sleeping and the correlated actions you can take to try and improve your sleeping patterns.

  • Stress and anxiety. OK, there's the biggy right up. If you're awake in bed stressing over stuff at night it's no fun. Obviously the root cause of the anxiety needs to be addressed and this isn't usually simple or quick. In the short term though don't lie in bed awake for hours agonising; get up and do something relaxing that will hopefully help you feel sleepy before returning to bed. Then after some sleep you're in a better state to tackle problems the next day. If stress is really preventing you from sleeping you might try listening to some calm relaxing music while trying to fall asleep. I'd recommend something instrumental, perhaps ambient background sounds, definitely don't stick the all night shock jock radio on. You don't want stimulation! A scientific approach to sound calming your mind for sleep uses binaural beats which help many people drift off.
  • Lack of exercise can really prevent you enjoying deep, restful sleep. If your lifestyle doesn't inherently involve physical activity then making sure you get thirty minutes of good aerobic exercise each day will help you sleep more soundly. This needn't be a 'workout' but just means ensuring your day incorporates enough physical activity. I know if I spend too much of a day sat in front of a computer etc it doesn't help me feel ready for sleep at night and when I have more active days I often sleep more soundly the following night. Being active out and about in fresh air also helps, especially if work usually keeps you cooped up in an office. Exercise can be invigorating though, so don't do it in the last few hours before bedtime as it may leave you too stimulated for sleep.
  • Too much caffeine! Coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, tea, its everywhere, and a lot of us are pretty addicted! While a little caffeine is great as a 'pick me up' during the day it is surprising how long its effects can last in the body and prevent you sleeping many hours after your last intake. To play safe it is a good idea to restrict caffeine intake to the morning as far as possible and definitely reduce your consumption during the afternoon. If you're a smoker the same applies to nicotine; though of course you should be quitting smoking anyway!
  • Alcohol is also a problem. While a few drinks can certainly help you get to sleep alcohol actually prevents you from falling into a rejuvenating deep sleep. I can certainly vouch for the truth of this! In my experience I'll sleep well initially but then wake after 4-6 hours and then struggle to get back to sleep. If this becomes a pattern staying away from alcohol often helps alleviate the problem. If you do have a drink in the evening a good tip is to also drink water at the same time. This helps to slow down and reduce your alcohol intake while reducing the impact what you do still drink.
  • Relax! While it sounds obvious it is essential to slow down and relax towards the end of your day as you approach bedtime. Going to bed with your head buzzing with ideas or still engrossed in a stimulating activity is not conducive to sleep. The Internet doesn't help here; if you're reading this because you can't sleep you might be better going away (bookmark this page first for later) and doing something more relaxing to prepare your body and mind for sleep. So when sleep time is approaching stop working etc and wind down with a book soaking in a bath. Your bedroom should also be conducive to relaxation and preferably on the cool side.

Hopefully making some conscious efforts along these lines will help you regularly enjoy an improved quality and quantity of sleep. If, however, problems persist seek professional help for any sleep disorder and/or stress you may be suffering from.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)