Getting To Sleep

One of the most common complaints in my practice today is the inability to sleep.
If you find yourself staring at the ceiling in the dark or glancing at the clock and end up doing the math in your head and thinking, “If I fall asleep now, I can get 7 hours of sleep…6 hours of sleep, 5 hours of sleep…” you are not alone. Many of us have struggled with getting to sleep for decades.

We’ve all probably heard by now that blue light emitting devices may be keeping you from falling asleep, but what if blue light isn’t the issue? Some of us have struggled to fall asleep long before we had cell phones and tablets to look at in bed, long before LED lights and late night television.

There are some other things that may be affecting the time it takes to fall asleep.

• Eating late in the evening.
• Eating sugar in the evening. (Yes, that ice cream or cookie may be the culprit.)
• Lack of exercise.
• Taking vitamins late in the day.
• Caffeine intake.

So let’s talk about some small changes that may make a big difference.

• Try to get your last meal in at least 2 hours before going to bed, and skip any desserts or snacks.
• Get in some strenuous exercise. Walking is great but if you are safely able to do some strength training where you work some muscle groups to a moderate level, this may help. Remember the last time you moved and had to lift boxes all day? I bet you slept well that night!
• Take your multi-vitamins early in the day. B vitamins are great for energy production and may keep you awake.
• Caffeine intake late in the day is an obvious thing to avoid, but some people begin to sleep better if they can cut coffee or caffeine out completely. I know that sounds horrifying to many, really I do, but remember, removing it for a few days is just an experiment, and it may just be the trick to getting better sleep and feeling more energized in the morning without the need for caffeine!