Prevent Insomnia

To prevent insomnia, you basically have to have an all-around balanced life style. A combination of physical activity, rest, stress management and a balanced diet is the key to preventing insomnia.

Physical activity is not only great way to stay in shape; exercising during the day on a regular basis will ensure that your body is tired enough to go to sleep once bedtime comes. It is best not to exercise before bedtime because stimulating the cardiovascular system wakes your body and your brain. It is best to do relaxing activities such as reading and taking a hot bath an hour or two before bedtime. A nice walk or meditating can be great activities to relax and wind down before bed.

Developing a regular sleeping schedual is crucial to avoiding insomnia. This means adhering to consistent bedtime and wake-up time, even on weekends. This conditions the body’s internal clock in a way that it uses sleeping and waking time more efficiently, thus providing a deeper, more satisfying sleep. Use your bedroom only for sleeping; doing other activities that are engaging creates an association in your brain that the environment is for something else other than sleeping. Having an ideal environment for sleeping is an important factor towards getting a good night sleep, so don't put a TV or computer in the bedroom.

If you are a light sleeper and have a noisy bedroom, introduce some white noise such as a fan to drown out unwanted noise. If you are in bed and have trouble sleeping, you should do an activity to unwind and head back to bed once you feel drowsy instead of staring at the clock wondering or worse, worrying when you’ll fall asleep..

Having a big lunch often makes people sleepy afterward. However, eating a big meal before bed is a bad idea as it can have the opposite effect. If you feel hungry before bed, have a light snack to help you sleep. Eat four to five hours prior to bedtime. Unless you need to get up really early, it is not recommended to have fluids before bed because you may have to get up in the middle of the night to urinate.

Eating a healthy diet is important for a good night’s sleep. You should avoid stimulants such as caffeine, specially the closer it gets to bedtime. Smoking not only reduces your overall health, it may also interfere with sleep if nicotine withdrawal is experienced during the night. Although alcohol can make people sleepy, it is not a recommended sleep aid. Yes, you will fall asleep much more quickly, but the quality of your sleep will suffer.