Sadly, not sleeping well enough affects all areas of one’s life. It significantly jeopardizes health and affects one’s mood. The common effects of getting inadequate sleep are:

• A weak immune system which makes one prone to illness

• Excessive fatigue and irritability

• Increased weight gains and heart disease

• Increases blood pressure and makes one prone to diabetes

• Drastically reduces focus and concentration, which affects productivity.

Now that it’s evident that insomnia wreaks havoc on the victim, it is vital to consider helpful ways to beat insomnia. A few adjustments in lifestyle choice can help beat insomnia.

A Few Word on Sleeping Medications 

Some people might resort to using sleeping pills to beat insomnia. While these medications work, it is not advisable in the long run. 

First, it comes with some side effects like impaired thinking and excess drowsiness. According to a study, some people who took hypnotic sleeping pills had an increased risk of cancer and a high mortality rate.

Also, sleeping pills come with the tendency of addiction. Over dependence on sleeping pills might make it impossible to drift off when you do not take the pills. 

This makes sleeping pills a wrong choice to beat insomnia in the long run. If you will take them, make sure it is only for a short time. 

Tips to Overcome Insomnia 

Use CBD Oil

Many people find it difficult to fall asleep because of stress, anxiety, pain, depression, etc. CBD oil has proven tremendously helpful in addressing these conditions. Many CBD edibles users have reported a feeling of refreshment after waking up.

The ability of CBD to bring about a sense of calm on the nerves significantly aids sleep. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, subjects that took 160 mg of CBD oil slept better than others.

There are CBD oil pills for sleep that aid sleep and help people with REM cycle disorder. According to some researchers, CBD, interaction with the serotonin receptors in the brain aids sleep.  

Be Smart with Your Food Choice

What you eat towards bedtime also goes a long way to affect your sleep. Here are some foods that you should not eat in the evening if you want to sleep well.  

• Soda and Coffee

While you might drift off faster after a glass of wine, it does not encourage deep and restorative sleep. In other words, drinking alcohol will not allow the body to enjoy the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep cycle.

Think about it; alcohol is liquid, which will keep waking you up incessantly to empty your bladder. As a result, reduce alcohol towards the evening.

Are you in the habit of ordering a late-night pizza for dinner? Think twice as it could contribute to insomnia. The issue with pizza is the ingredients. The fat in the cheese and acid in the tomato negatively affects sleep. 

There is also the tendency to get heartburn from pizza. This can be traced to the acid content in pizza as it triggers acid reflux. Heartburn could leave some people partially awake, which affects sleep. 

Yes, green tea is healthy as it helps burn weight. Taking it before bed, however, could make your sleep suffer for it. The presence of stimulants in green tea like theophylline and caffeine also does not help sleep.

Check Your Medications

The inability to enjoy a night of deep and restful sleep for some people can be traced to their medications. There are some prescriptions in which users will suffer side effects like difficulty sleeping.

Medications used in treating asthma and high blood pressure, for instance, can trigger insomnia. Some pain relief medications come with caffeine and other stimulants that affect sleep.

If you have a prescription in which one of the side effects is difficulty sleeping, make sure to talk to your doctor. They can help make the necessary adjustment to get you sleeping again.

Dedicate Your Bedroom to Sleeping and Sex

You might find it pretty difficult to sleep if you use your bedroom for other activities. As a result, make sure you do not have any other activities in your room. 

Watching TV in your bedroom or using your laptop in there is a bad idea. This does not help sleeping in that the brain associates the bed with other activities aside from sleeping. Also, the presence of light from the screen (TV screen, laptop, smartphone) significantly reduces your ability to get a good night’s sleep.

According to research, using electronic devices like iPods, tablets, smartphones, and PCs in your bedroom affects the body’s internal clock. It also affects the release of the sleep-reducing hormone melatonin. 

Develop a Sleep Time Routine

This involves forming relaxing habits that will calm the body down and prepare the mind for sleep. These are habits that signal the brain that it is time to power down and prepare for sleep. Examples of such habits are

• Meditation

• Taking a cold shower

• Listening to relaxing music 

• Yoga

• Taking a glass of warm milk, etc. 

These activities can help you calm down, thereby preparing the body for a night of restful sleep. Reading for 30 minutes every night, for instance, comes with significant health benefits. It lowers blood pressure, reduces heart rate, and also keeps anxiety at bay.

According to a 2009 research study at the University of Sussex, even a few minutes of reading before bed significantly reduces stress by 68%, making it possible to drift off easily. 

Conclusion 

There are times stress and cares of everyday life could affect one’s ability to enjoy a good night’s rest. Besides, it can be terribly frustrating tossing and turning on the bed, hoping that the sweet hands of Morpheus will carry you away.

We have discussed practical and helpful tips to help you enjoy a night of deep and relaxing sleep. Make sure to apply the tips discussed and watch as your sleep habit transforms significantly.