The first step in rectifying the issue is precisely pinpointing the cause. You can then craft the precise plan to eliminate or reduce the source of poor sleep habits.

The timeline

As with most new habits takes about 20 to 30 days for your body to get used to the changes and adapt to new patterns in your lifestyle. It's important to be aware of this fact because too many people give up on their plan because they don't see immediate results and get back to their old unhealthy habits.

The purpose of this article is to help you craft a plan, establish a routine and create new habits that will be beneficial in the long-run.

Some pointers

Limiting the number of habits you focus on in a specific time line

If you try to change it all immediately you're likely fail. If that happens to get discouraged and get back to your old ways.

Instead of tackling all the bad habits at once try changing the single thing at a time.

Let's be specific

It's preferable to take about three months to address three issues, instead of trying to change them all within the first month.

After establishing each new healthy habits, give yourself a reward - this will keep you motivated to go on.

Be patient

Some techniques for improving your sleep will work for part of the population but not all of us. For maximum efficiency it's probably smart to define a deadline and a specific objective.

What's important here is not to allow the deadline to create what we can call a “stress of performance”. If you feel like your deadline for the change is approaching and you're not seeing the results you expect, you get stressed out. It goes without saying that the added stress is counterproductive.

Instead, think of the deadlines and goals as a reference.

This is not an exact science and might take a few attempts of different techniques to craft a better sleeping plan.

Some of the common techniques for improving sleep

Exercise

This one is pretty common on you and you probably heard it before, but there's just no way around mentioning it.

The exercise doesn't have to be especially challenging or strenuous, it's just about spending energy. Once your energy pools are depleted your body will feel a greater need for a restorative sleep

Changing your eating habits

Another tip that's pretty intuitive. The good news is that the dietary habits of a healthy lifestyle have a lot in common with the those for better sleep.

Eat light meals

One of the most common problems of a sleep problems is digestion.

Instead of eating heavy meals that will clog up your digestive tract, go for lighter and more frequent ones. This is especially important in the range of the few hours just before you go to bed.

Meals that are heavy, either in calories are in volume, will cause you are feeling of discomfort and are likely to interfere with sleep.

If you don't want to or can’t change you dietary habits completely, try this - stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. If you're too hungry have a light snack that doesn't include sugar.

Exposure to sunlight

Making a good plan for sleep comes down to training your brain to recognize that the bed-time is approaching.

An important part of that is light. If you work in a dark place, your brain will have a difficult time recognizing day-time from night.

Two tips we might stress here are getting more of natural sunlight or including some form of stimulating sunlight in your work environment.

Insomnia is not as common as people think

Insomnia, as defined by science, is less common than most people think. Most of us who are having sleep problems simply don't have a medical problem but are simply overwhelmed with the frenzy of the modern life.

Trial and error

Being patient about change is a must.

The shift from your old habits is substantial and you need to realize that it's a process of trial and error.

A good plan will factor in a range of your lifestyle aspects, from the exercise when mentioned to the firmness of your mattress, your dietary habits and how your body reacts to caffeine.

Caffeine is commonly misunderstood

Most people think that just eliminating or lowering the amount of coffee we drink through the day will do the trick.

In reality, it's a bit more complicated because caffeine has a long half life (about six to eight hours) meaning that if you get a cup of coffee at 8 PM is the equivalent of getting the same Cup at midnight or 1 AM.

Coffee alternatives and over the counter sleep aids

Over the counter sleep aids like melatonin or Valerian (or a combination of both) are, we feel, overused.

Instead of the reaching for that the bottle right away, try experimenting with your lifestyle to see if you can do it without adding chemicals to your life.

For example, try replacing coffee (at least the cops you drink in the afternoon) with a nice cup of kava kava. Kava kava has many restorative benefits but is not regulated by the FDA, so if you do introduce it to your life make sure you choose a good brand - you can see our picks among brands of kava kava for anxiety and sleep here - https://thesleepstudies.com/best-kava-kava-tea-extract-for-anxiety/.

A good rule of thumb here would be to not to drink any caffeine in the afternoon.

Over the counter sleep AIDS are usually based on herbs like Valerian or hormones like melatonin.

Melatonin is one of the most potent sleep supplements out there but if you talk to medical professional most of them will tell you that, as with most hormones, it's not an ideal solution in the long term because it can form a habit. Another issue is that people tend to take too much of it. Although a melatonin overdose is not life-threatening it can cause serious side effects - you can see our guide on melatonin overdose here - https://thesleepstudies.com/can-you-overdose-on-melatonin/

Valerian is a milder option because it's a a herb, but it's action are similar to that of a sleep pill - it work by stimulating GABA production. Similar to melatonin, it's a supplement and not strictly regulated so before you decide to give it a go, make sure your product of choice comes from a trusted brand - you can see our picks for best Valerian root supplements here - https://thesleepstudies.com/best-valerian-root-reviews/

Final thoughts

Plan, be patient and smart. That would be a summary of what we talked about above.

If you feel like you’re wasting time trying to make it all work, think about the long-term effects. A few months of consistency will pay huge dividends in the long run, both in your health and the overall feeling of wellness.

The sleep problem of the modern world and what you can do about it is available on thesleepstudies

via The Sleep Studies - Feed https://thesleepstudies.com/sleep-problem-modern-world/