Table of contents:
- 1. Establish a sleep routine
- 2. Try to be consistent with a sleep routine for one week
- 3. Avoid pressing buttons snooze in the morning
- 4. Pay attention to the pattern of consumption of food and beverages
- 5. Create a comfortable bedroom environment
- 6. Make the bedroom dark at night and bright during the day
- 7. Don't just lie in bed when you have trouble sleeping at night
- 8. Set a proper schedule for physical activity
- 9. Avoid falling asleep during the time you would normally be awake
Sleep patterns, or our sleeping habits, are heavily influenced by the biological clock that regulates us to wake up and sleep for 24 hours. Changes in sleep patterns usually occur due to staying up late or staying awake longer. This causes changes in sleeping habits and shifts in the biological clock, causing us to fall asleep at abnormal times.
The factors of age and busyness cause your sleep routine to change easily. Lack of sleep at night and replaced by sleeping during the day are examples of changes in sleep patterns, and this can cause the body to not work optimally. The normal sleep pattern is sleep time of 7 to 8 hours at night, and the rest is spent awake.
Here are some tips to improve sleep patterns back to normal:
1. Establish a sleep routine
The 7-8 hour sleep pattern at night may be too difficult for some people to follow. But the thing that needs to be considered in establishing a sleep routine is to make yourself as comfortable as possible. Identify and deal with factors that can distract you from resting.
You may find it difficult to regulate your sleep cycle at night by falling asleep at the same time. However, you can try to maintain the wakefulness cycle by waking up at the same time in the morning. Do this gradually by getting up in the morning 5 to 15 minutes earlier until you get used to the time to wake up.
2. Try to be consistent with a sleep routine for one week
Consistency is key if you want to improve your sleep time. That means you have to develop a habit of sleeping duration, as well as the times to start sleeping and waking up at the same time. This should be done during the week including weekends.
3. Avoid pressing buttons snooze in the morning
By increasing sleep time in the morning (at the push of a button snooze) then your sleep routine will change again. In other words, the wakefulness cycle will change and over time there can be a shift in sleep time. If you're working on improving your bedtime, delaying waking up when the alarm goes off can make your efforts less effective.
4. Pay attention to the pattern of consumption of food and beverages
Here are some important points in regulating consumption patterns before bed:
- Avoid consuming caffeine (whether from coffee, tea, or other sources) more than 12 hours before your bedtime.
- Avoid drinking too much fluids before bed so you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet.
- Avoid consuming alcohol before bed because it will interfere with the body's process of falling asleep.
- Avoid consuming sour and spicy foods before bed.
If you feel hungry at night, try to eat foods that are healthy and don't make it difficult to fall asleep, such as whole grain snacks, low-sugar cereals, and bananas.
5. Create a comfortable bedroom environment
Here are some ways to make the bedroom feel more comfortable to rest
- Reduce or eliminate noise from both inside and outside the home environment. Avoid repetitive noises such as engine noise from a fan. If you can not minimize the source of noise, use tools such as earplugs
- Maintain a cool room temperature - too hot or too cold will affect the quality of your sleep, try to get the room temperature to sleep around 18oC.
- Make sure you fall asleep in a comfortable position.
6. Make the bedroom dark at night and bright during the day
The body's biological clock is easily affected by light stimuli. If you want to improve your bedtime at night, try reducing your nighttime exposure to lights or computer monitors. In the morning, make your room fill with both sunlight and light. A bright room will make it easier for someone to wake up.
7. Don't just lie in bed when you have trouble sleeping at night
Difficulty falling asleep at night is usually a result of stress and too many thoughts brainstorm before sleeping. Of course this will make it difficult to fall asleep because in addition to having a lot of thoughts, the body tries to rest. When this happens, get out of bed, engage in activities that relax you, and understand what's bothering you. Prioritize relaxing your mind and body first before you try to fall asleep.
8. Set a proper schedule for physical activity
Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality. If you have a habit of exercising, do this activity regularly and try it in the morning. If it's not done in the morning, it's best to do it about four to five hours before you fall asleep and give it about an hour for relaxation from physical activity before bedtime.
9. Avoid falling asleep during the time you would normally be awake
To reduce difficulty sleeping at night, you should avoid falling asleep at the time you normally do your activities and at times close to bedtime, for example in the afternoon. Try not to fall asleep when you feel bored or sleepy after eating. Let your body really doze off when you feel tired and need sleep. If you are really tired and need to sleep during the day, try not too long or about 20 minutes.
