Sleeplessness is a growing issue around the world today. Studies show that 35% of the adults around the world are sleep deprived whereas 20% of teens sleep for less than 5 hours a day and teenagers’ average sleep time is still 6.5 hours which is less than the standard sleep time of 7-8 hours. This might or might not look scary enough but it is good for us to know that being sleep deprived is the root cause of many physical and mostly mental health problems.
Being rest deprived is literally one of the worst ways to abuse your body and soul. That has been proven many times and various articles all over the internet have been written on its alarming health concerns, but it is also important to narrow down to the solutions.
If you are on the preliminary stage of just being sleep deprived because of work stress or if you are a teen and are addicted to late-night video games, then implementing a few simple ways regularly may help you out, but if you are chronically insomniac and are struggling hard to get sleep, then you definitely need to consult a therapist or a psychiatrist. Ignoring your sleep health is a big no-no. Now with all that being said, let’s get into 5 ways to battle sleeplessness to give you a good night and a happy and productive morning.
Meditation
A study was conducted in JAMA Internal medicine that proved meditation’s effectiveness to cure sleep problems. Like it has already been mentioned before, these problems stem out from stress and meditation exactly targets that. The study also shows that meditation helps increase melatonin, the sleep hormone; reduces serotonin, the precursor of melatonin; reduces heart rate, and decreases blood pressure. It also controls all the body parts that control sleep. It is the most effective way to curb sleeplessness and get a proper night’s sleep.
Military sleep technique
This technique is used by the US Army to battle sleeplessness at night. They start by relaxing their whole body, starting from relaxing the face muscles, down to the absolute lower body, i.e. releasing tension down to the lower legs.
The very important point to be noted while doing this method is to be mindfully involved in the whole process of relaxation and your mind should only be concentrated on the parts that are very slowly but steadily releasing stress.
Your mind should be clear of all thoughts or if you have to think of something, you can think about a happy memory and visualize the process. Think of something that soothes your heart, like a distant waterfall or a valley of daisies. This will thoroughly relax your mind and body and promote quick sleep. This method is so effective that it is said to reach your goal in just 2 minutes while the beginners may take just some more extra minutes.
4-7-8 breathing method
This is a popular method of falling asleep used by yoga enthusiasts. It was discovered by Dr. Andrew Weil and bases the method on control of breath and a continuous pattern to calm the nerves in order to fall into the state of slumber. What needs to be done is to:
- Exhale with your mouth prominently so that the “whoosh” sound of breath leaving is heard
- Inhale through your nose now, closing your mouth and counting to 4
- Count to 7 to hold the breath
- Open your mouth while exhaling your breath while counting to 8
- Keep on repeating this cycle till you feel soporific
Say no to naps
We all love an afternoon nap after our lunch isn’t it? But there are mixed opinions on whether naps affect your sleep or not. Some studies reveal that naps definitely affect sleep and are a major reason for insomnia and poor resting quality at night.
What is safe to say is that if you nap late in the evening or early at night, it is obvious that your body has got the required rest and you are not going to fall asleep sooner or later. Taking naps may also make you slouch more and reduce the productivity of work. So remember to complete all the pending work, then let go of everything from your mind, and then hit the bed. The fatigue and satisfaction of completing your tasks are sure to give you good rest at night.
The no tech rule
It may not come as a surprise to you that using any form of technology right before bed hampers sleep. It is the reason why teenagers are deprived of adequate rest. We are also getting aware of the dangers of using mobiles and laptops every day and it definitely concerns our regular schedule.
However, not everyone implements the precautions in real life. It also gets difficult sometimes because of how the internet is used for functioning in every aspect of life. Maybe you recall you had to reply to an important mail, or even win a FIFA match that you had challenged your opponent. The Internet is tempting for us all. It is the easiest thing to get access to.
The best way to avoid such unnecessary distractions is to schedule everything from beforehand, preferably in the morning as that also helps you keep productive throughout the day. But if you have to use the internet before you hit the bed, end it with a relaxing video or something that soothes you and gets you rid of stress. You can also hear some calming music or meditate for some time. Those all aid you get better sleep and rise and shine the next day.
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