Showing posts with label Sleep. Show all posts

Sleep!

As an anxiety sufferer, you'll know that sometimes sleep can hard to come by. Whether it be due to medication or genuine stress and worry, there can be many times when you can't get to sleep or have disturbed sleep. There is much to trawl through on the internet about how to get back to sleep or get to sleep, so I thought I'd compile a few tips which I've heard are beneficial or help me. 

1. Yoga - yoga is great for nerves, but also for trying to get to sleep and more importantly; back to sleep! There are many apps and videos in which you can follow yoga routines. 

2. No caffeine - it seems quite an obvious one, but is often avoided. This means no tea, sugar and possibly even cheese before you sleep. It can reduce anxiety in general too, if you have less of this in your diet.

3. Write it down - an old trick from the book. Writing down your worries can help a lot. For me I don't just like to write, but I like to organise, whether that's before I go to bed or whether I wake up in the middle of the night, stressed. Sometimes, if I really can't sleep I'll try and complete some of things on my to do list.

4. A hot drink - a hot drink always helps - of course it helps if it's not caffeinated!

5. Music - if you go onto YouTube, you'll find many songs and playlists with music to help you sleep. I've found this really beneficial.

6. Get up - if you find yourself tossing and turning for over twenty minutes, then try to get up and move. It only has to be for a minute or so. For some reason it works quite well.

7. Bath - people always say a hot bath helps de-stress and helps you to sleep too. See what you think!

8. Screen time - supposedly not using your phone/tablet for an hour before you go to bed can help you to sleep better. Give it a go.

9. Regular sleeping pattern - if you are constantly going to bed at different times throughout the week, try getting up and going to bed at certain times. Your body will soon get used to it within a few weeks and hopefully without the need of an alarm.

10. Counting - this may have been something you were taught as a child to help you sleep; but counting can often help you to drift of into a deep sleep.