Cure:Insomnia

24 Ways to Waste Less Time in Bed 

Are you really an efficient sleeper or are you basically shaving hours off your life every day?  

Most people - probably including you - waste hours in bed for absolutely no good reason. The purpose of this article is to help you, not only to fall asleep faster, but also to optimize your sleep system – the idea is of course that you will ultimately waste less time in bed because you will require less sleep and fall asleep faster. 

The article is a work in progress. New tips will be added regularly, including in-depth explanations of each tip.  

1. Slow Bed Movements. Instead of tossing and turning in bed, move around sloooowly if you absolutely have to move around. Frustration feeds on fast movements. Gentle, slow movements will make you yawn and feel more tired. Try it!   

2. Eliminate Negative Thinking. Negative thinking in general (but in particular negative thinking about not being able to fall asleep) creates frustration that causes higher brain waves. When your brain waves are high you are more alert making it practically impossible to fall asleep. Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts and images. Some people find it helpful to say, “Cancel, cancel,” every time they catch themselves in negative self-talk before substituting a positive statement.  

3. Limit time spent in bed. Regardless of how long you slept, don’t spend more than 8 hours in bed. Get out of that bed! Unless of course you and your better half have morning activities of some sort planned (which I do not want to hear about in any way, shape, or form. Please!). 

4. Reduce intake of stimulants. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine at least 4-6 hours prior to bedtime. Nicotine and caffeine both speed up brain waves thereby promoting poor sleep. They can also cause you to have trouble falling asleep and can also cause more awakenings during the night. A little known fact is that smokers often experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms during sleep, which means your body will have more difficulty entering the deep sleep stage.’ 

5. Don’t use alcohol to fall asleep. People who are experiencing difficulties falling asleep often try to solve the problem with alcohol - the so-called nightcap. Although alcohol initially has a stimulating effect, that effect is followed by a decrease in the time needed to fall asleep. However, while alcohol does help people fall into light sleep, it also robs them of the deeper, restorative stages that are responsible for restoring your physical energy, which is likely to have a negative impact on your daily energy levels.

6. Learn to Relax or Meditate. Practice breathing exercises such as abdominal breathing – or consider learning some basic relaxation techniques. Google it! No, you do not also have to become an active yoga enthusiast just because you meditate, and you will be no less of a man (or woman) for doing so. Listen to meditative slow music. Buy a meditation CD! 

7. Relax your facial muscles. Most people who try to relax are mostly concerned about relaxing the body. Full relaxation goes for your face too.  

8. Stop looking at your alarm clock. If you can’t stop looking at your alarm clock when trying to fall asleep, move it out sight or turn it around. You don’t want to be reminded that you can’t fall asleep - it will only reinforce the inability to fall asleep.  

9. Adhere to a designated get-out-of-bed time every morning. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t slept well or slept very much. Yes… get out of bed! I thought I told you that already? 

10. Don’t concentrate on falling asleep. You should never actively pursue sleep. If you stress because you feel that you must be asleep by a certain time or simply put too much effort into focusing on falling asleep, you will decrease the likelihood of your falling asleep.  

11. Expose yourself to natural light (works best during daytime). As people we are designed to bask in natural light, not to be confined in artificially illuminated cubicles all day long! Get out and enjoy the splendor of the real world as often as you can. Take your lunch outside; eat breakfast on your porch or near a window. Move your desk near a window. Ordinary indoor lighting produces so little natural light that your body practically believes you’re in total darkness. 

12. Make sure your bedroom is dark. I’m talking about when it is time to sleep. What you and/or partner(s) do before that time is none of my business! Geeez, how many times do I have to repeat myself here! The same way that bright daylight signals to your body that it is time to wake up, darkness has the opposite effect. Complete darkness aids the body in the production of melatonin that is required in order to sleep. 

13. Take a vow of abstinence. 

14. Let’s get physical. No, I’m not necessarily talking about that. Jogging works too. Exercise is conducive to sleep because it puts strain on the body. When you physically engage your body, your brain will compensate for this by increasing the length of the deep sleep stage. The best time to exercise is late afternoon or early evening. This is so the ensuing drop in body temperature will coincide with your designated bedtime.  

15. Ok, ok. Scratch number 13. Jogging isn’t that much fun. 

16. Don’t eat heavy meals in the evening. Your digestive system slows down during the night, so your system will use a lot of energy digesting late meals—energy that should have been used to rejuvenate your body! So, avoid heavy eating before bedtime. 

17. Take a steaming hot bath for around 20-30 minutes. Taking a hot bath will provide a quick rise in body temperature followed by a drop. You should take a bath around two hours before bedtime so the drop in body temperature will coincide with your designated bedtime. Taking a bath more than two hours before bedtime may only make it more difficult to fall asleep since body temperature may still be too high. 

18. Get off soft drinks. Most soft drinks contain caffeine—the bottom line is that you should moderate soft drink consumption, or stop it completely. 

19. Eat foods that are conducive to sleep. Eat chlorophyll-rich foods, such as leafy, green vegetables, lightly steamed or boiled. Fresh is always better than frozen or canned. Local is better than imported. Micro algae, such as chlorella and spirulina, are considered super foods, because they provide so many vitamins and minerals. You can purchase these and oyster shell as nutritional supplements in a health foods store. Carbohydrates boost serotonin, which promotes better sleep. Whole grains such as whole wheat, brown rice, and oats have a calming and soothing effect on the nervous system and the mind. Mushrooms support the immune system. Fruit, especially mulberries and lemons, calm the mind. Seeds: jujube seeds calm the spirit and support the heart. Chia seeds also have a sedative effect. Use dill, basil and other herbs, particularly organic herbs, to spruce up your dishes. 

20. Adjust bedroom temperature. Since we already know that a drop in body temperature is important in regards to falling asleep, it is obvious that it will be harder for your body temperature to drop if your bedroom is too warm. Make sure that your bedroom is relatively cool. Of course, it should not be so cold that you are freezing, since that will make you unable to relax and fall asleep. A few degrees below your daytime environment will set the stage for quality sleep.  

21. Block out the noise. To block out unwanted and disturbing noises some people find a constant “white noise” very soothing and an effective remedy to achieve a serene, calm mindset. White noise masks other noises that may be keeping you awake. 

22. Develop good pre-sleep routines. An hour or so prior to sleep, it is important that you start to wind down and allow your mind and body to become susceptible to slipping into sleep. During this hour before sleep, you should avoid any stimulating activities such as discussing finances with your spouse or watching an action packed programs on TV. This, of course, includes the news! 

23. Laugh more. Laugh and have fun some time before bedtime. Laughter releases endorphins in your body and reduces stress. It’s not enough to just go ha-ha. It has to be genuine laughter. You can make a frequently updated play list on Youtube.com to create your own little laugh-on-demand cinema. 

24. Don’t go to bed unless you feel tired. You should only try to sleep when you are sleepy. Let your body tell you when it is time for bed. Frustration is most often the effect of a failed attempt to go to sleep. With increased frustration, you are left in a state of arousal that further inhibits sleep. In addition, as you continue to lie awake, you reinforce the association between your bed and wakefulness.  

25. Insert your tip here. If you have a tip that has worked for you - feel free to leave a comment below! If it is any good I will add it to the list
Sweet Dreams… but not for too long. J

Martin