Like dealing with jet lag, fixing sleep problems
requires strong will power; It is hard to stay awake or get out of bed if
you are tired, and
easy to give in to sleep at inappropriate times.
Here are some tactics trawled from the internet :-
What is your target amount of sleep to ensure your
long term well-being?
(Around the world, most people need 8 hours sleep.)
Knowing what time you have to get up on an average
working day, work out a target time to get to sleep.
Try to keep to this regular bed time, and a regular
getting up time – to give your body a rhythm.
Don’t allow yourself to sleep in the day time, but
if it can’t be avoided, set a 10 minute timer on your phone or cooker, or ask someone
to wake you.
Don’t binge sleep at weekends – it disrupts your
body clock.
Stop working at least an hour before your bed time
– preferably at a point when you feel a sense of accomplishment.
Don’t
keep going ‘just a little longer’ to finish the whole job. (Remember we make
more mistakes when we are tired – viz. Challenger Shuttle disaster).
Don’t start something that will run beyond your
target bed time. (eg don’t start a 2 hour film at 10pm, or start a piece of
‘homework’ that will take you beyond your bedtime.)
Don’t start playing open-ended, time-oblivious, or
addictive games before bed.
Set a 'do not disturb' schedule on your phone eg
10.30 til 6am.
Don’t take your phone into the bedroom, so you
can’t check it while in bed.
Avoid blue light screens before bed – set
automatic colour shift on your phone/iPad/Laptop.
Windows 10 ,
Apple ,
Android
Read books to make you drowsy; they have chapters
that make good stopping points.
In daytime, go out into bright daylight. It produces melatonin
that reinforces your body clock.
Take exercise. You don't need a gym; put on
your trainers and run – or even walk.
Try sleep-improving foods;
Avoid caffeine, especially after midday,
if you are sensitive to it.
Use warm milky drinks before bed.
(Weirdly) high fibre foods (eg All-Bran) have been
shown to help people get to sleep more easily and make them less likely to
wake in the night.
Use a prebiotic (not a probiotic) supplement such
as Bimuno, available from
Holland and Barrett etc.
This page by the american company
Prebiotin
contains a video clip that explains the difference betweeen probiotics and
prebiotics
Have a warm bath an hour before bed – to trigger a
falling body temperature.
Put a pen and paper by your bed so you can write
down and ‘park’ any concerns for the night.
Use a relaxation technique/ Mindfulness / CBT
/meditation, to get to sleep.
If you can’t sleep, don’t lie in bed being anxious
about that. Get up and do something restful:- eg tidy up, read a book (not
on a screen), do something constructive………
Don’t worry if you have a few short nights of
sleep: you know that you can cope, and that you will recover using the above
strategies.
The US Army Technique to fall asleep in 2 minutes,
claims 96% success rate after 6 weeks of practice.