How I learned to have better sleep

Lack of sleep can lead to headaches, depression, heart diseases, stroke and many other health issues. It impacts our work efficiency and daily routines. I know many of us are aware of it and it is nothing new. But still we struggle to find better ways to have sound sleep. Let me share some of my experiences and what worked for me.

“Sleep is the best meditation” — Dalai Lama

One important thing which I realized is that quality of sleep really matters. Six hours of good sleep makes me more refreshing and active than eight hours of rolling on the bed, looking at the clock three times in night.

Make it total dark and don’t see time

I have a small alarm clock on the side table which I bought from Walmart. Earlier, between the sleep cycles and dreams, whenever I got up I used to see time and then I used to roll on the bed till morning until 6am. Then I promised to myself that I will not open my eyes until there is daylight or the alarm clock rings. It really worked! The rule is — Just keep your eyes closed and just relax your mind and body, with minimum to no movement. I could easily fall asleep with this technique even if I woke up at night.

If you remember the dream through which you woke up, just continue making your own story and be in the same dream and it can put you to sleep again.

The ‘Unwind your mind technique’

This is an interesting technique which I tried after reading in one of the Indian meditation books. Events of the day keep on winding our mind during the day. When I go to bed, I start thinking of events in reverse order from the time I lie on bed, reverse to the morning . It is unwinding the day. Believe me you will not even complete the events of the day and you will sleep before you ‘unwind your day’.

Eat at least 2 hours before you sleep and don’t stuff yourself

With a light breakfast(sometimes on the way to office) and lunch in office, I always wanted to have good dinner with my family at home and it was mostly late. The sleep was often disturbing and sometimes I had to go to washroom in the middle of the night. We established a habit of having on time, light and healthy dinner at least 2 hours before going to bed. It really worked, I did not feel discomfort at night have have good sleep.

Read a book than ‘gadgetting’ an hour before sleep

Our family used to watch television for long hours or Netflix movies and ended sleeping late. Television addiction or using any gadgets till late night kills sleep. We all decided to read book after 9.00pm targeting to sleep by 10pm. It took few days to make it a habit. Within half an hour of reading a book everyone starts yawning. The sleep came naturally rather than forcing us to sleep.

I have configured ‘sleep mode’ in my phones from 10pm to 5am with an option of only getting calls from whitelisted people(my parents) or those who call 3 or more times. No notifications, no calls. Sleep better with Gadgets away!

Check if there are any health issues

Once it happened with me that I had muscle cramps which were disturbing for my sleep. I consulted doctor and physiotherapist and started stretching and improved diet with more electrolytes and it worked for me. So if you have health issues, consult your doctor immediately.

No caffeine, No sugar after 3pm

It was not an easy one for me. I love cookies and sweets and not having any sweet after 4pm and avoiding coffee in the afternoon was tough for me but gradually I made it work. I shifted to having Chamomile or green tea or garlic tea rather than caffeinated options.

A short nap in the afternoon is good

I noticed sometimes during late afternoon or evening I feel tired. If I am at home, a 20 minutes nap is very refreshing. It’s like rebooting your system. And the best part is that it will also help in good sleep at night(as long as you don’t sleep for long in the afternoon).

Listen to your body, when it asks for rest find a way to rest it

Tensions and thoughts keep you pre-occupied

Our mind never stops thinking and thoughts disturb especially when we are upset or in emotional crisis. In such situation nothing seems like working and we loose sleep. The only technique which worked for me was focusing on my breath when I sleep — breathing in and breathing out. Another time, the tik-tik of a clock in the room was making a mild sound. I started focusing on that tik-tik sound and had a nice sleep. The tik-tik noise in continuous sequence became a lullaby for me. Another technique mentioned by one of my friendly dietician was to listen to ‘Yog Nidra’ or meditation music which you can easily find on YouTube or Spotify. This is normally a 15 to 20 minutes recital making you feel comfortable from toe to head. Choose the language you prefer. Do not use headphones or earphones, use an option where the device shuts down after it is over. Alternatively you can use this for a nap in the afternoon or evening.

Don’t fight with the sleep, just sink into it and surrender to it

Be appropriately tired

Unfortunately I am not a ‘Gym person’. I try yoga, stretching exercises, walking and try feel ‘appropriately tired’ to sleep at night. It is more critical these days with whole day being online with office or school classes, social media or games. Don’t hurt yourself with exercise so that you end up with muscle pains at night. ‘Treat your body with care’, but try to stretch it to raise the levels

If you fear going to bed feeling that you will not have good sleep, you have already planned not to sleep. Your sub-conscious mind will work to satisfy your fear to prove you right.

There are many other ideas I have tried like taking a bath before dinner or soaking my feet in water with Epsom salt and they are equally effective. I have also tried putting a drop of pure edible almond oil drops in my nostrils before sleep and I see the difference. The most important thing is when you feel like sleeping at night do not start watching television or look at your social media accounts. Just sleep. Have a good night sleep today.

Note: Please always consult your doctor for any medical issues or insomnia. These are snippets my personal experiences. Photo credits to unsplash