Are you having trouble sleeping? Does it seem like you toss and turn all night? Are you constantly watching the clock and seeing the minutes and hours tick slowly by? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 70 million people in the United States alone have sleep issues. There are some things you can do to help get out of that unhappy, sleepless, tired category.
1. Your Mattress
The biggest reason you might have trouble sleeping is your mattress. If you are tossing and turning all night trying to get comfortable, any sleep you get will not be deep and restorative.
One thing you can do is go to a mattress store (including yours truly) and get evaluated by a mattress expert. You will find out if your body needs a firm or soft mattress based on a mapping program. Whether you end up with a Tempur-Pedic, Simmons, Serta, Beautyrest, Sealy, or Purple mattress—or one from any of the other brands out there—it is not necessarily about the brand name but about how the type and firmness of the mattress work with your body to take pressure off your joints so that you don’t wake up with aches and pains.
2. The Temperature in Your Room
If you are too hot and sweating, you won’t sleep very well, and if you do sleep, you will wake up dehydrated. Try putting a cold compress or rag on your pulse points and neck to cool off. You can also jump into a hot shower to cool off in the air when you get out. On the other hand, if you are laying there freezing, you will not sleep well either. Keep a throw blanket around so if you have a partner who likes it colder, you can put a throw blanket on your side to warm up and sleep comfortably.
3. Too Much Caffeine
Caffeine… whether in coffee, tea, energy drinks, or some other format, is a stimulant and will keep you awake. Yes, most of us need it in the morning to get going and a little later to get over the mid-day slump, but having it too soon before bed will keep you awake. The Sleep Foundation recommends not drinking any caffeine six hours before you go to sleep. It may not feel like it on some days, but caffeine stays in your system for a while!
4. Not Having a Routine
Your body has a natural sleep cycle, which is prone to instability if disrupted. This is why people who travel overseas get jetlag. Some people can’t go to bed and wake up at the same time each day or night due to work, but you can at least create a routine to signal to your brain that it is time to sleep. Turning off your phone or TV, using aromatherapy such as lavender, doing a guided sleep meditation can help you relax and drift off to sleep.
5. Your Brain
Insomnia is a clinical diagnosis. Shift Disorder can occur for night shift workers. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can impact sleep and affects a lot of military veterans but can affect anyone who has been through something traumatic. Maybe you have depression or anxiety. A big event the next day that you are worried about. You can try something over the counter like valerian, melatonin, chamomile tea, or even Benadryl. If that doesn’t help, you can always go see your doctor for prescription medication.
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You don’t have to keep suffering. These are only some of the things that can help you rest better. The better the quality of your sleep at night, the better the quality of your days. You will have more energy and more mental resilience to fight any stress that happens throughout the day.
Check out what our impressive selection of name-brand mattresses can do for you! And if you have any questions, reach out to our experts. We are always happy to help.