How to Cure Insomnia: De-Stress Before Going to Bed

Don’t let stress diminish the quality of your sleep. Let’s start changing behavior before bedtime to relieve stress and prepare the body and brain for sleep following these instructions:

• Plan work to suit the available time. Separate work and rest time. When it’s time to get off work, stop thinking about work and give yourself time to relax.
• Try to go to bed at a consistent time. Go to bed as soon as you feel sleepy for the body to remember sleep time. Adjust the biological clock in the body to balance.
• Organize the environment in the bedroom appropriately. Adjust the temperature so that it is neither too hot nor too cold. Turn off lights and noises.
• Eat foods that are high in magnesium, such as soybeans, peanuts, almonds, cashews. and whole grains to help relax the nervous system.
• Stretch your muscles, massage them, twist them, or soak them in warm water to relieve tension.
• Sip a warm drink that helps to relax, such as chamomile tea, etc.
• Create a sleep environment by using scents that help sleep, such as lavender, chamomile, etc., to help relieve stress. Makes you feel calm and free.
• Do some activities to help you feel relaxed  such as reading books, listening to music, drawing, meditating, etc. 
• Exercise regularly. But do not exercise for 4 hours before bedtime as it will make the body awake and make it harder to fall asleep.
• Avoid using your phone before bedtime. Place your phone away from your bed to prevent the light from your phone screen from disturbing your sleep.
• Avoid having heavy meals before going to bed. If you feel hungry, eat light meals such as bread, juice, milk, etc.
• Avoid drinking alcohol, tea, coffee and caffeinated soft drinks at least 6 hours before bedtime.
• Stop thinking about things that make you feel stressed, worried and sad. Try not to think about the future that is yet to come.

If the insomnia has not improved after following the advice mentioned above, you need to consult with a doctor to find the cause, receive treatment and plan a sleep plan as recommended by your doctor. If it leads to chronic insomnia, it can affect the health, quality of life, work performance, contributing risk factors for medical problems like cardiovascular disease, anxiety and diabetes etc. 

Let the sound sleep be a time of true relaxation by starting to pay attention to healthy physical and mental health from today or get a further consultation with a doctor at PrimoCare Medical Clinic. Click here to visit us or make an appointment to enquire more about our services.

References:

• กรมสุขภาพจิต. จัดการกับความเครียด เมื่อต้อง work from home
• กรมสุขภาพจิต. นอนไม่หลับอย่าพึ่งยา แค่ปรับนาฬิกาชีวิต
• Melinda Ratini. Insomnia.