Happy & Healthy

DO YOU SLEEP POORLY? DON'T JUST GO TO BED EXTRA EARLY!

Are you also a bad sleeper from time to time? Then pay close attention, because I’m about to share a mega important tip. One that will really help, one that you will be super grateful for. Here it comes.

If you sleep poorly, don’t suddenly go to bed extra early.

Then I will now say how I know that.

I regularly have periods in my life where I sleep poorly. And not sleeping is hell – you know that too, otherwise you wouldn’t have clicked on this post. I mean, when you lie awake for HOURS, and I mean HOURS, night after night, you just don’t know where to look anymore. You only know that you will probably die if this lasts three more nights. And I made that poor sleep even worse for a while by doing something I genuinely thought was a good solution. Because what did I do? I went to bed extra early (around half past nine), to give myself ‘that extra bit of time to fall asleep’. Naaahhh, that turned out to be a disaster.

also the eleven reasons why you absolutely want to stay here according to May. here how to make your bedroom completely zen.

“If you sleep poorly, don’t suddenly go to bed extra early.”

Because no matter how hard I tried, how much sleep tea I drank, I usually didn’t fall asleep at 9:30 PM at all. Because I just wasn’t mentally ready for it yet. Biologically speaking, I wasn’t ‘done’ with the day, no matter how tired I was. In fact, at one point I fell asleep even later due to the excitement of not being able to fall asleep. And those times when I did manage to go to sleep around half past nine, I woke up extremely early. I say: the best thing you can do is stick to your familiar rhythm. A fixed rhythm is mega important – that’s how they teach babies to sleep well.

Another tip: don’t take a nap (no matter how tired you are), as that can really disrupt your internal clock. The best thing is to ensure you get enough physical activity during the day, a bit of yoga here and there, as little coffee as possible and alcohol in your body and… a not too stressful daily routine. Honestly assess what’s on your plate right now, and take a few things off. And know: it will pass. Really. It will pass. It’s temporary. Even if you think it’s not, even if you think your final hours are near: this too shall pass.

Want to know more about insomnia? Here you can read all about sleep hygiene (because that’s what this is called). Oh, and if you’re really in deep trouble, just go see your doctor. And believe me: they know things.