Written by: Andrew Millett

Sleep is one of the most important parts of one’s life.  Sleep!?  Really?

Yes, really!  Sleep is when our body heals and regenerates from the previous day’s stress and activity.  If we don’t allow our body time to heal and recover, we will continue to wear our body down until we have a forced shut down.

Falling asleep and staying asleep can be a challenge for some people.  With the amount of distractions that we have in the world and in our lives, we are constantly “on”.

For those that have trouble sleeping, here are three tips on how to improve your sleep:

1. Decrease Screen Time 1 Hour Before Bed

Watching TV, going on your Iphone or IPad is a great way to make it harder to fall asleep.  The light that is emitted from our devices, aka Blue Light, can decrease the release of Melatonin, a hormone that helps us fall asleep, and in turn can keep us more awake.

Try getting off your phone and stop watching TV within 1 hour of bed time.  You can try reading a book, meditating, performing mindfulness, etc. to help you relax prior to getting into bed.

If you absolutely have to look at your phone or really enjoy watching TV with your significant other, you can also wear Blue Light Glasses.  Blue light glasses help to stop the absorption of blue light through your eyes and allow for normal melatonin release.

2. Sleep in a Cool, Dark Room

When going to sleep, make sure your bedroom is below 68 degrees.  Decreasing the temperature of the room helps the body fall asleep quicker and remain asleep.  When the room is too warm, it can make it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.

• Try to limit as much light in the room as possible.  

• Place your smart phone face down or leave it outside of your bedroom.  

• Try using blackout shades to limit light from the street.

• Use a white noise machine or white noise app on your phone to help drown out noise outside of your bedroom.

3. Limit Alcohol Intake Before Bed

Our last tip to improve your sleep is to limit alcohol intake prior to your bedtime. Alcohol is a depressant and yes, it can help you fall asleep.  But, it can impact you transitioning into REM and deep sleep and spend more time in light sleep.  The impact of this is that the body isn’t able to get into REM and deep sleep where most of our recovery and regeneration occurs.  Also, you will fall asleep faster after drinking alcohol, but you will be more likely to wake up once the effect of alcohol wears off.

If you are going to imbibe, try stopping within 2-3 hours prior to bed time to allow for your body to metabolize the alcohol in your system so when you do go to bed, it doesn’t affect your sleep.

In Closing:

Sleep is important to allow our body time to heal and recover. With a lack of sleep, we will continue to wear our body down until we have a forced shut down. If you are having trouble recovering or sleeping, try these tips to get a better night’s sleep:

1. Decreasing Screen Time 1 Hour Before Bed

2. Sleep in a Cool, Dark Room

3. Limit Alcohol Before Bed.

Give those a try and let us know what you think. If you have any additional questions on sleep, you can always contact our physical therapy team.