Chronic Insomnia Relief: BEST Sleep Hygiene Tips You Aren't Doing

Chronic Insomnia

Imagine this. You are tossing and turning in your bed, fighting another restless night of sleep. Then, your alarm bolts you out of bed, prompting you to tackle the exhausting day that life has in store for you. Whether you are trying to tackle some errands with energy, or simply stay awake at work, chronic insomnia can make every aspect of life much more challenging to confront. The CDC states that nearly 1 out of every 3 people has disrupted and lower quality sleep in their life. There are so many ways to help end your sleepless night, which is why I’m glad you are here.Today, we will discuss a few of the best sleep hygiene tips that you probably aren’t currently doing.

Fixing Insomnia: Where People Go Wrong

We’ve all heard the hard recommendations of “putting your phone away while in your bed” or to “do a soothing activity like read, meditate or journal before bed.” These are great recommendations, but unfortunately only address a small portion of the day. These activities are all based around things that you are either doing within 30 minutes of bed, or even in bed. Because of this, people often forget about the other 24 hours in the day. To fully beat insomnia, and get your sleep under control, we need to look at sleep hygiene tips both at bed time and WELL before bed time. But when you are considering these things, I do need to mention something. So many people I have worked with in improving their health and sleep habits only take one or these pieces of advice. And guess what? Their chronic insomnia never improved fully! So although following a couple of these sleep hygiene tips will help, following EVERY single tip is crucial for the best sleep improvement results.

BEST Sleep Hygiene Tips You Aren’t Doing

Stopping Caffeine 10 Hours Before Bed

That afternoon pick-me up coffee might be helping you to get through the rest of your day, but unfortunately it could be making your chronic insomnia much worse. This is because caffeine can take nearly 10 hours for some people to fully process and clear from their body. To improve your sleep I would highly recommend cutting stopping caffeine intake such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, about 10 hours for bed OR as far away from bed as possible.

Limiting Carbohydrates and Water 2-3 Hours Before Bed

That large meal with potatoes, rice, or pasta with a nice tall glass of water might taste great right before you go to bed. But did you know that this could make your chronic insomnia worse? This isn’t because there is something that makes carbs and water not be able to fall asleep. It is, rather, because carbs contain a large amount of water, making you need to pee in the middle of the night. Add on that water, and you’ll be up numerous times, making your sleep hygiene much worse.

That Isn’t Enough

You probably are thinking “I can do those first two, no problem!” Well, there is a problem. As I mentioned, just following a couple of the tips are a great start. But to get rid of your chronic insomnia forever, you need to be aware of these next few things.

View Sunlight After Waking Up

I know what you are saying to yourself. I’m trying to sleep better, why in the world would are we talking about waking up? Well, if you are able to view sunlight directly after you wake up, you are helping your body’s internal clock become regulated better, by triggering the brain that it’s time to be awake. This means that when it starts to get closer to night, your body will naturally be able to fall asleep better, since it viewed the sunlight earlier in the day.

Be Physical Active

I’m not saying to go out and run a marathon everyday, but being physically active, such as jogging, bodyweight exercise, and weight training, will sleep tremendously. This is not only because exercise is physically exhausting and makes you tired, but also because exercise helps to regulate hormones better that can assist in sleep and other positive health outcomes. If you are able to, try to avoid exercising too close to bed, as this could make your chronic insomnia worse.

Limit Naps During The Day

We’ve all been there. Tired, exhausted, maybe even bored. What’s the best thing to do? Take a nap! Well… maybe not. Taking short naps of 15 or less minutes are probably okay, but taking naps longer than that will mess with your body’s internal clock. This is because you are basically telling your body it’s time to go to bed, even though it’s 5 hours before your actual bed time. If you are able to fully forgo taking naps, that is one of the best ways to improve your sleep hygiene.

These are a few of many great sleep hygiene tips to improve your chronic insomnia. Follow them daily for the best results. If you are looking for a low impact exercise program to follow to assist you in sleeping better, we have a designed a perfect daily program that you can check out, below.