It’s hard to truly appreciate the value of a good night’s sleep until you’ve actually battled a sleep disorder. Sadly, poor sleep quality affects an estimated 25 percent of adults in the US. This is troubling because poor quality sleep, whether caused by insomnia or disturbed sleep, is more than a minor inconvenience. As this article by sleep-tech company Simba shows the Impact of Sleep on Mental Health can be huge. You start to experience mood swings, weakened concentration, problems with memory, and over time an increased risk of depression, anxiety disorders, and lifestyle diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Sleeping pills may seem like a quick fix, but we know all too well that they are fraught with risks. So, before you reach for medications, try these holistic treatments to improve sleep quality.
7 Tips for Better Quality Sleep
- Pre-Sleep Rituals
Your pre-sleep routine is just as important as your actual sleep routine because it helps set the stage for sleep. From experience, I’ve found that early evening exercise is an effective antidote to poor quality sleep and mild insomnia, but don’t take my word for it. Swiss researchers found that evening exercise could improve sleep quality, increasing both REM and slow sleep. Just make sure that you don’t indulge in any high intensity exercise for an hour or two before bedtime as this can be counterproductive. Aside from exercise, studies show that having a hot bath a few hours bed time increases sleepiness and improves slow wave and stage 4 sleep quality.
- De-Stressing
This is non-optional if you really want to get a good night’s sleep. Stress and anxiety are the main contributors to disturbed sleep, making it important to use stress reduction techniques to lower those stress levels. Stress can also work indirectly by exacerbating symptoms of chronic pain from conditions like endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and arthritic diseases, which are known to interfere with sleep quality. Meditation is undoubtedly the most effective method of lowering stress levels and is even recommended as a therapeutic tool to cope with anxiety disorders and depression. To ease into a meditative state, you can even use a meditation spray with scents like lavender.
- Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy fragrances work directly on the olfactory system, the brain region that controls the sense of smell. This affects the limbic system, which is connected to stress levels, heart rate, breathing, and memory. Although more research is needed, some evidence suggests that aromatherapy can reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality. When using aromatherapy you can opt for essential oils or aromatherapy candles, lighting them shortly before bedtime to fill the room with fragrance. Just remember that aromatherapy candles made from soy wax are a better choice as they won’t release any airborne toxins or pollutants.
- Yoga
Yoga is appealing to many of us because of its potential to improve fitness levels and make us super flexible, but it also offers tremendous mental health benefits. For me, taking up yoga proved to be a turning point in my fight with anxiety disorders – an experienced shared by many others. Not surprisingly, yoga’s stress reduction benefits can also lead to improvements in sleep and studies show that it can even relieve chronic insomnia.
- Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is another holistic healing system that was once dismissed as pseudoscientific, but is now used in clinical behavioral therapy programs. Far from the Jedi mind control it’s characterized as in cartoons and film, hypontherapy is a clinical practice that has more in common with meditation and behavioral conditioning. Hypnosis is used to induce deep relaxation and may be a promising technique that can work with cognitive-behavioral therapy to treat sleep disturbances.
- Blocking Out the Light
Artificial lighting is known to disrupt the circadian rhythm, severely impairing sleep quality. For most city dwellers it can seem like there’s no escaping the light, but there are steps that you can take to reduce light interference. You could use blackout curtains and tape down the LED lights on devices in your bedroom, or invest in some good quality eye masks to get better sleep even when you’re out of town. Don’t forget that blue light from digital screens is even more disruptive as it suppresses melatonin production, so make sure to turn off your devices a few hours before bedtime.
- Restricting Time in Bed
Despite what you may think, spending more time in bed actually reduces sleep quality. Sleep restriction therapy, which is used to treat insomnia, recommends less time in bed as this strengthens the connection between your bed and sleep. Only get into bed when you’re ready to sleep. Similarly, if you have trouble falling asleep and keep worrying about sleep quality, try staying awake for as long as possible instead. Odds are, you won’t be able to stay up for long. This is known as paradoxical intention therapy, another technique used in behavioural therapy to reduce sleep anxiety and help you to get a better night’s sleep.