How to quiet your mind for a better sleep

Forty per cent of Canadians have trouble sleeping. Here are 7 tips to help you calm your mind and get the restful sleep you need.

Anna Sharratt

Lying awake at night with thoughts racing through your mind? Here’s how to calm yourself, quiet your mind and get a restful sleep.

Maybe you’re finding yourself tossing and turning at night. Replaying anxious thoughts. Struggling to fall asleep. If so, you’re not alone. About 40% of Canadians have at least one symptom of insomnia — such as trouble falling or staying asleep, according to a study in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

Getting better sleep can have a big impact on your life. It can help with alertness, productivity, concentration and mood. How can you tell if a lack of sleep is affecting your health? The Mayo Clinic lists symptoms to watch out for:

• Daytime drowsiness. If you’re always exhausted during the day, it could be a sign you’re not getting the best sleep possible.
• Lowered productivity. Many people get sleepy around 1 pm in the afternoon. But if you’re dragging yourself through your whole day, you need more shut eye.
• Lack of concentration. Are you missing the little details or making careless mistakes? This could be due to low-quality sleep.
• Low mood. If you’re feeling less enthusiastic than usual — or downright sad — your sleep could be to blame. Poor sleep can heighten feelings of anxiety or depression.

7 tips for restful sleep

If you find yourself asking what will finally help you sleep, take heart: there’s a lot you can do fall sleep faster and get the best sleep possible.

Here are some simple steps you can take from the National Sleep Foundation:

1. Set a schedule: The healthiest sleep schedule is one that’s consistent. By sticking to the same sleep schedule, you’re less likely to throw off your body’s rhythm, disrupting your sleep cycle.
2. Work out strategically. Exercise can help relax you and encourage sleep — especially yoga, which gently stretches muscles while promoting deep breathing. But avoid any rigorous activity too close to bedtime. Exercising too late in the evening can leave you energized and not sleepy at all, making a sleep problem worse.
3. Skip stimulants. Drinks containing caffeine can leave you jittery and awake. Stick to caffeine in the morning and non-caffeinated drinks — such as herbal teas — before bed.
4. Hide your screens. Turn off the TV and put away your phone or tablet at least an hour before bedtime. At the very least, turn your phone’s screen to night mode each evening to reduce the blue light emitting from your screen. Blue light disrupts sleep more than other forms of light.
5. Relax. Focus on calming your mind, whether that’s through meditation, listening to music, or sleep-inducing apps like Pzizz. There are also apps that can guide you through a series of muscle relaxation exercises to ease tension.
6. Consider a weighted blanket. Weighted blankets for anxiety and insomnia have become quite popular. Do they really work? According to Harvard Medical School, psychiatric facilities use weighted blankets, particularly to help calm children. It isn’t clear if they really work for insomnia — but they suggest the risks of trying it are low.
7. Don’t stress about not sleeping. If you haven’t fallen asleep after 20 minutes, get up and do something relaxing. For example, take a bath or read a book until you feel sleepy.

When to get help with insomnia

If you’ve tried everything — and are still having trouble falling asleep — talk with your doctor. They can send you to a sleep clinic to determine if you have a more serious sleep issue. Or they can discuss treatment options for insomnia. These include:

• Melatonin supplementation. The body produces the hormone melatonin naturally, creating a sense of sleepiness during the evening. But people who have trouble sleeping may not produce enough of it. Taking melatonin supplements on a short-term basis may help restore your sleep, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Just ensure you take them two hours before your bedtime.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I is a type of short-term therapy focused on helping people sleep better. It involves practising good sleep hygiene, such as going to bed only when sleepy, cognitive therapy around sleep anxiety and restricting sleep to get a better quality sleep.
• Psychotherapy. If anxiety or depression is causing your sleep issue, getting a referral to a psychologist or psychotherapist may be the help you need.
• Medications. While doctors prescribe medications to help with serious sleep disorders, they do have side effects and can be habit-forming. Doctors recommend patients try non-drug options before taking any medication.

Originally published on Lumino Health.