After several nights of not sleeping well, getting into bed is more of a concern than a moment of relaxation. Repeating itself like a mantra in your head: “Now I’m going to bed and sleep, I have to sleep, tonight I have to sleep” won’t help you. Far from it. Forcing to do something creates worry, worry breeds anxiety, and anxiety is sleep’s worst enemy. A vicious circle that must not be given the lead. Here are 10 good habits that will help you fall asleep quickly.
Tips for falling asleep easily
We have compiled a handbook of tips for you to fall asleep easily. Don’t let laziness win you over and practice at least 2 a week. You will see how your nights will change, and your days too!
1. Don’t fall asleep on the sofa
After dinner, the most awaited moment of the day arrives: that of relaxing on the sofa, in front of a movie or your favorite TV series. At the first signs of sleep, even if it seems too early, even if you would like to see another episode of the TV series, get up and go to bed. Sleeping on the sofa is a bad habit for 2 reasons:
- we associate sleeping with the sofa and not with the bed;
- if we fall asleep on the sofa, when we get up to go to the bedroom we interrupt the first phase of sleep, the one that then leads us to the deepest and most pleasant REM phase.
2. Stop for a moment, breathe, slow down your pace
We are all always in a hurry, so in a hurry that we do things in a hurry even when there is no need. Think about it, you will realize that it is so. When you notice that you are eating, talking or moving in a frenzy… slow down. Slowing down the pace you will find that you have more time than you think. Quality, anxiety-free time. A time when doing things is a pleasure!
3. Take 2 breaks during the day
Don’t tell us you don’t have time… You were going to do it, we know! You just have to give yourself 2 small moments of relaxation of 5-10 minutes maximum. You can lie down on the sofa; if you are in the office, it is also okay to relax in your chair. The important thing is to close your eyes. When to take breaks? One after lunch and the other either mid-morning or mid-afternoon. 5-10 minutes are only apparently a negligible time, but our body, when we relax, is able to regenerate itself in a very short time.
4. Remember that the bed… is just the bed
You know, everything we like in life is either immoral or wrong. Including breakfast in bed, watching TV in bed, working on the pc in bed. The convenience (and temptation) of doing these things between the sheets is great, but swapping the bedroom for the office, kitchen or living room is a big mistake. In our head, in fact, the bedroom must be associated only with rest. So, off the TV! And away with the computer and the smartphone.
5. Go to sleep at the same time every time
Getting your body and mind used to set times helps the sleep / wake cycle get into the right rhythm. If you go to bed and wake up at the same time all the time, after some time you won’t be bothering to go to sleep, it will be a natural process.
6. Avoid coffees
Let’s dispel the myth that coffee gives you energy and helps you focus. It is not so. Indeed, when you are tired, drinking coffee makes you even worse. If you abuse coffee during the day, in the evening you find yourself struggling with these unpleasant effects: you feel exhausted, agitated and unable to sleep. Is it worth it? Try replacing it with barley. It’s just a matter of habit, believe it and try !.
7. Keep your bedroom tidy
Remove the clothes on the chair and the shoes from the carpet, free the bedside table of the things you don’t need and… gradually everything related to work: no pc, no documents, no smartphone. Keep your room tidy and make your bed every morning. No, we don’t want to be the mother-in-law of the situation, but a clean and tidy environment promotes sleep. When you walk into your room in the evening you need to find a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, and not a bunch of tangled sheets and clothes to tidy up.
8. Listen to relaxing music
The only electronic device you can keep in your room is a stereo or a small speaker to connect your cell phone to (so you don’t even have the temptation to take a ride on Facebook). Listening to relaxing music before going to sleep helps you fall asleep, surfing the internet does not. So do this: Lie on the bed, close your eyes, listen to your body supported and just focus on the notes. Have you only ever listened to rock music? The compilation that relaxes you the most.
9. Take a warm bath
Bring the speaker to the bathroom to listen to music, light a few candles, fill the tub with hot water, add 5-10 drops of lavender essential oil – lavender has anti-stress properties – and soak for about 20 minutes. Sounds like trivial advice, but it really works. In fact, when you take a bath, your body temperature rises and as soon as you get out of the tub it decreases. This change in temperature helps you fall asleep quickly.
10. Eat light for dinner
You go all day in a hurry, for lunch you eat a salad or a piece of pizza on the fly, in the afternoon you drink a coffee and in the evening for dinner you are very, very hungry. These are the classic bad habits of those who spend all day away from home. Habits that can be changed with a little organization. To sleep well, in fact, at dinner you have to eat lightly. In this way you do not burden digestion and improve sleep… and also the shape! Avoid red meat, carbohydrates, sweets, spicy foods, fried foods, and fatty condiments. Instead, go for white meat, fish, vegetables and soups. Write these 10 tips on a piece of paper and stick it to the fridge, so you will have them under your eyes every day and you will have no more excuses not to put them into practice. Admit it, these are all simple tips that you don’t just follow out of laziness. Remember that to feel good, sometimes, you just need to love yourself and take time… also, and above all, to sleep.
Wasn’t following these tips enough? Thanks to the titrated dry extracts of Valerian, Escolzia, Hop and Linden, it improves both the quality and duration of sleep, counteracting stress and insomnia.