Need A Good Night Sleep? Switch Off!

We’re not just talking about all the distracting electronics like your laptop and tablets, ceiling lights and table lamps of the room. It’s a given to put those off as you retire to bed to get the darkroom setting for a good night’s sleep. But it’s the mind, we’re talking about. How often have you laid wide awake between your bedsheet with your mind racing in limitless thoughts? Perhaps you are reviewing the events of the day or are worried about money or work. Sometimes, the mind goes the extra mile by replaying things from the past even- pulling up worrisome matters you dug deep under the drapes of your mind.

While the above scenario is fairly common from time to time, it can possibly be a symptom of a serious mental health illness if it’s too frequent. One such is Anxiety and it often occurs in the night when the brain is not as actively busy like in the daytime. It’s important to keep check of the situation and encourage a good night’s sleep by switching off the mind, along with the lights! Read on to know how you can do so.

1. Create the perfect sleep environment

Before you go into bed, it’s important to create the most suitable sleep environment that relaxes your mind and body. Choose soothing colors for the room that encourage peaceful slumber than alarming reds and other brighter hues that could keep you up. Ensure all sound and light producing items that could potentially distract you from falling asleep are turned off. Keep the room ventilated, dark, quiet, comfortable and most importantly- cool.

2. Choose the perfect mattress

We cannot stress the importance of this enough. The formula for a good night’s sleep is Point 1 mentioned above plus a mattress that suits your sleep preference. Mattress experts Wakefit encourages using memory foam mattresses for the sole reason that it mimics the sleeper allowing the body to be in the most naturally rested position. This allows you to literally relax any pressure points in your body and lull you to sleep. Opt for an ortho mattress to alleviate any pains that could flair existing anxiety.

3. Visualize

Now that you are in bed, absorb the possibility of imagination. Imagine every good thing in your life and increase the connection to positive emotion. Hold on to the emotion to shut down unwanted anxious thoughts.

4. Read

A great exercise for the mind before bed- read a storybook. Reading is a quiet exercise to distract the mind from anxious thoughts that crop up in the night. Make sure to read a good and pleasant story before bedtime, to store pleasant memories while sleeping.  When the mind engages in a story, your thoughts are tied down to the events in the book – forming a judgment or just living the moment!

5. Routine

A great way to reduce anxiety at night or to manage it better is by sticking to a routine. Reducing uncertainty to a great extent can relieve anxious thoughts triggered by not knowing what’s in store. Stick to a routine and pre-plan things that are in your control so you don’t end up overthinking. This includes a strict bedtime routine.

6. Observe

Observe your thoughts as if you were a third person. Accept them with opening arms and acknowledge their presence. Upon doing this, place them in an imaginative toilet bowl that you will flush down. Once it’s down the drain- it’s not coming back up!

Sleep is an absolute necessity for optimal cognitive functioning and body cell restoration. Shut down your racing mind and dive deep into a restorative night slumber!