Everyone knows someone who struggles with insomnia and just can’t sleep. Recently, more and more Brazilians have been struggling with insomnia and problems, such as the pandemics and social isolation, alongside their expectations and stress, which have been responsible for increasing anxiety in people, which can directly influence the quality of sleep.
Therefore, it is important to note that those who can’t sleep show several symptoms such as irritability, a reduced performance, memory changes, changes in concentration, mood swings and fatigue.
And it’s not only a matter of how many hours someone sleeps, but the sleep quality they have.
Lack of sleep and the coronavirus
The number of people who have had insomnia-related problems has increased dramatically during this last year, marked by the pandemics. And as much as they try, they just can’t sleep. But why has this been happening?
One of the main causes of this disorder is the break from our usual routine. Simply, overnight, our lives were completely changed, and we often missed our waking and eating hours, as well as all the other activities we were used to do.
All of these changes directly affected our biological clock, directly interfering in our sleep.
In addition to that, there is also another one of the greatest villains for those who can’t sleep, which is anxiety. And shutting off anxiety and all the racing thoughts during bedtime became an almost impossible mission. This makes it very difficult for the body to relax and to start to sleep.
Thus, we have chosen some tips to reduce the insomnia problems, providing you a quality night’s sleep.
Sleeping hygiene: a solution for those who can’t sleep
This name might sound weird, but just as we practice body hygiene, sleeping hygiene can help you improve the quality of your sleep.
Therefore, we have chosen a series of steps for those who can’t sleep and need to improve this situation:
- Disconnect yourself from the digital world: one of the greatest difficulties of people today, and stay off. But, it is essential that, to be able to relax as soon as possible, turn off or put the cell phones in silence and turn off notebooks and televisions. Even the light from the screens induces the organism to think as if it were still daylight, which makes the entire sleep process more difficult.
- Try to maintain a sleeping routine: fixed schedules for sleeping and waking up will help developing a sleeping habit. Even if you are unable to sleep early, set a time to wake up. Over time, the body begins to adapt itself.
- Beware of eating at night: heavy or fat foods can be indigestible at night and can cause you discomfort or even abdominal pain. And to sleep well, we need to feel comfortable and without pain.
- Get ready for sleep: Still regarding comfort, it’s important to prepare yourself for a good night’s sleep. Turn off or dim the light, try to feel comfortable with your bed, with the temperature and everything related to your environment.
- Avoid caffeine: Drinks like coffee, black tea, mate tea, soda and energy drinks contain caffeine and should be avoided, since they are stimulants.
- Disconnect yourself from the digital world: one of the greatest difficulties people struggle with today is shutting yourself off from the internet. But it’s essential that, in order to be able to relax as soon as possible, you turn off or mute your cell phone and turn off your notebooks and TV’s. By the way, the screen lightning induces the organism to believe it’s daytime, which makes the sleeping process even harder.
- Practice physical exercises: physical activities are essential for the sleeping process. That’s why we created a topic to better explain this issue.
How physical activities impact the quality of sleep
Studies show that physical exercises directly interfere with sleep quality, since at least half an hour of physical activities has a calming effect, being able to reduce insomnia and improve relaxation. A good night’s sleep will also enhance the effects of physical activities, since your metabolism will work better as a whole, even accelerating the process of weight loss and gain of mass.
As already mentioned, in the case of lack of sleep associated with problems with anxiety, physical activities can help a lot as well.
In this case, the tip is to bet on fun and relaxed classes, such as aerobics and dance, which will increasingly stimulate the production of endorphins, responsible for causing a feeling of well-being and will consequently reduce the levels of anxiety, causing a significant improvement in relation to your sleep quality.
However, experts in the field indicate that, whenever possible, the activities should be practiced during the morning or during the afternoon, because the adrenaline release caused by exercising makes you ready for the rest of the day, but the level of adrenaline goes down throughout the day, providing you a peaceful night’s sleep.
If you still don’t have an available for exercising, bet on lighter and less agitated exercises, because its effect regarding sleep can be just the opposite, leaving the person even more agitated.
Don’t fight insomnia
It might sound crazy, but anyone who isn’t able to sleep knows exactly what we’re talking about. Fighting insomnia happens when we roll around in bed, trying to force our body to fall asleep.
And believe me, it doesn’t work! Instead of trying to fight insomnia, the ideal thing to do is always going to bed when you are really sleepy.
If it still takes you a long time to sleep, get up, make some tea or another calming drink and try to read a book, so that the mind will relax and get sleepy.
Medication for those who can’t sleep
Insomnia can become an increasingly big and complicated problem to solve, which is when we call it chronic insomnia. In these cases, sleeping hygiene alone will not be enough to solve the problem.
Therefore, it is essential to seek help from an expert, since sleeping problems can be associated with many disorders, and can be treated by several doctors such as: otorhinolaryngologist, neurologist, pulmonologist and even dentist.
Never take any medication on your own. Sleeping medications are addictive to their users and you will never be able to sleep without medication again.
Also remember that sleep is directly related to our quality of life, being essential to our physical and mental health.
