7 Ways to Beat Insomnia for a Good Night's Sleep

Unable to sleep properly due to the ongoing mess that COVID-19 has made of this world? Insomnia is really awful, combined with the stress of the surrounding situation it has become beastly nowadays for most of us. And insomniacs struggle to get into normal sleeping patterns. It really interferes with everyday tasks. Won't go into the details now we all know what happens: inability to think, tiredness leading to low productivity, lower sex drive, weakened immunity leading to high cancer and diabetes risk etc etc. Thus in short, all fatal illnesses might just come creeping up. I've faced it in all forms and sometimes I still do. But never mind me; even after knowing all that I stay up like a big old fluffed up owl. But you're unlike me, hence I'm here to help you just as promised in my last article Sleep Scarcity.

Yes I know falling asleep is difficult when you think of conquering the world by finishing all your pending works as long as you are unable to sleep, but then again you're too tired to function and next day you have to be productive. Been there done that. Before I suggest the tips that my therapist had taught me while I was battling depression, I would like to mention that if you're seriously facing other mental issues along with sleep troubles for quite some time, better ditch the Google search and seek professional help as such issues need to be paid attention to and dealt with seriously. 

Now let's begin; in the end there is a bonus personal tip which helps me a lot. So following are the ways to beat insomnia that you can try:

1. Be Consistent

Maintain a proper sleep pattern everyday. Try to sleep and wake up at same time each day. The body and mind gets adjusted to it and accordingly releases melatonin (yes, the fancy sleep hormone). Thereby keeping our biological clock running with the surrounding.

2. Try Contrast Foot Bath

I've never tried it myself but my therapist had said me to try it several times and was ultimately angry. Terrible student I'm!! It's basically alternatively dipping your feet in cold water and warm water for sometime. It is known to relieve stress and induce sleep. It has other benefits too. Here I'm including a link if you want to read more about it in details.

3. Practice Breathing Exercises

There are several types of breathing exercises which you can follow if you feel stressed or anxious. It calms us down and lowers heartbeat. You can find plenty of articles or tutorials. Try the ones according to your preference.

4. Exposure to Light and Darkness

In the morning try to be in a well lit room and maybe soak in some direct sunlight even if for half an hour. At night while trying to sleep say no to dim lights or night lights. That fancy sleep hormone gets released in little to low light conditions and continues doing so when we expose ourselves to light and darkness (let's leave out our souls) in consecutive repeated cycles.

5. Lower The Screentime

By now everyone knows about blue light exposure due to LED devices and excess dopamine release troubles. Nothing new to say to make this more boring so give it up maybe a bit. Don't worry not going to tell you to keep the phone away atleast an hour before bed, as no one follows it, myself included. Warning don't follow in my footsteps though.

6. Lifestyle Change

Here comes the usual lecture to change your bad lifestyle. Plan your day beforehand, keep a journal. Eat healthy and balanced diet, stay hydrated. Eat fruits and veggies as a natural source of supplements for vitamins and minerals. Exercise regularly, even if walking. If possible, don't miss out on yoga and meditation for they have several benefits. Invest a bit on making the bed room look better or different as ambience matters.

Now the bonus, personal tip for you all. It really works for me always and really easy to do. You should definitely try this out.

7. Listen

Listen to songs or white noises, recitation, instrumental music, motivational speeches, podcasts, relaxing sounds, asmr videos. Everyone has different tastes and preferences. I personally prefer rain sounds or wood wick candle sounds, sometimes asmr. There are audios, videos available on several platforms like Spotify and Youtube. There are even plenty of dedicated apps for calming you down like Headspace, though I myself prefer Calm as I like few of the short story telling sessions there. I never tried it but Tingles app has advertisement free streaming of asmr videos. Though I personally feel that listening is better than watching because of blue light emmisions but whatever suits you best go ahead with it. So, chop chop... Go ahead and choose anything you like.

These I gathered all from the internet so a brief look at what to avoid strictly!!!

• Avoid caffeine close to bedtime and if possible (I know you won't still) alcohol.
• Keep all those electronic devices away (yes virtual social distancing after midnight).
• Don't indulge yourself in any form of recreation in the middle of the night.
• Try not to warm yourself too much by putting on several blankets or covers or by overheating the room.
• Don't sleep in odd posture or uncomfortable mattress.
• Ditch that midnight snack if you intend to fall asleep as some food tend to enhance sleeplessness.
• Do not look continuously at the clock while thinking that soon it'll be dawn and today also you'll be wide awake. 
• Avoid naps longer than 30mins during daytime.
• Don't over work or over excite yourself during bedtime.

Do let my know how far any of these worked after trying them for a span of 15 days atleast and if any of the ideas you found here were new or already known to you. So snuggle under the covers comfortably with a cosy pillow while I try to get some sleep myself. Good night and sleep tight y'all!!