We have all been there. There’s a meeting the next day, we know we need to get to sleep but the mind refuses to quieten down. We go to bed with a nagging thought and before we know it, it’s 3am and we are still ruminating over that thought (and a whole lot of unrelated ones). The more we try to sleep, the more awake we feel.
Sleeping well, especially when we are faced with relentless distraction, has become a well-earned commodity. Like yoga, preparing for good sleep takes practice and often includes changing habits that are not healthy for our bodies. Habits take time to change; with patience, persistence and practice, we can slowly change our behaviour and thought patterns and establish good habits.
“With patience, persistence and practice, we can slowly change our behaviour and thought patterns”
Circadian rhythm
First, we need to be aware that our sleep is also affected by our wakefulness. The sleep-wake system is regulated by two processes that work in tandem around the 24-hour cycle – Process S is the drive for sleep, Process C promotes wakefulness. Process S peaks at night time, turning off the “switch” in our brains thus allowing us to fall asleep. In contrast, Process C peaks during the day and is regulated by the circadian rhythm.
Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. These natural processes respond primarily to light and dark.
Simple Tips
What you do during your waking hours will affect your sleep, and vice versa. Here are some steps you can take to encourage a good sleeping habit.
- Lower your body temperature by 1 degree. Our body temperature is higher during the day. A gradual decline in body temperature promotes sleep onset. 18 degree celsius is reportedly the optimal temperature.
- Do some physical activity during the day. Daily exercise initiates energy use, regulates body temperature and promote deep sleep. However, you should avoid intense exercise too close to bed time.
- Avoid diet that will stimulate cortisol (the stress hormone) especially in the evening, for instance coffee, and foods high in salt , fat and refined sugars. Interestingly, cortisol level in our bodies start to rise 2-3 hours after the onset of sleep and naturally peaks about 30 minutes after waking. This means having a coffee at point of waking may lead to too much cortisol in the system.
- Keep to a regular sleep-wake time. It’s hard for the body to get used to healthy sleep routine if it keeps having to adjust to different wake times. Pick a wake-time and stick to it, even on days when you feel tempted to sleep in.
- Be mindful of naps. Too long or too many naps during the day will affect your ability to fall asleep at night.
- Eliminate light disruption by way of devices (blue light increases cortisol) and excess light exposure in your bedroom. One suggestion is to establish a pre-sleeping routine where you allow yourself 30 minutes to slowly wind down, disconnect from your devices, and lowering the lights (eg. eye pillow, dark curtain).
- Set yourself up with a good support, where you are comfortable on your pillow and mattress. These should be chosen with the goal of giving you the best chance to relax and support your spine to avoid aches and pain.
- Adjust your schedule gradually. When you need to change sleeping habits, do so with little adjustments so your body can get used to it.
Even with the list above, one can’t avoid times when sleep simply escapes us. Personally, I find that when I do lie awake at night, what works for me is to visualize my “happy place”. This simply means bringing up an image of a place that brings me joy, that of strolling along a beach or walking in the mountains.
My visualization is infused with how it feels (eg warm soft sand under my feet), the sights and the sounds. What happens is that the busy thoughts that occupied my mind is now replaced by something nice and if I accompany it with long, slow exhalations, eventually, ever so gradually, I start to fall asleep.
Take it one step at a time, be kind to yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help from specialists if you need to.
Read next article: Yoga Sequence for Bed Time
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