If you, like thousands of others, find yourself endlessly checking the clock throughout the night, with an accompanying din of life’s worries marching through your mind, you will understand the hell that is insomnia.
As we know, sleep is most essential to our general wellbeing; our overall health depends on us getting enough, lowering our risk of various nasty diseases. Here, the Lomax team give a list of essential points to remember when battling with insomnia.
No coffee after 3pm
Cut down on booze before bed. Contrary to popular belief it does not help us sleep, just helps us pass out for a few hours, after which our blood sugar level drops causing a wake up effect – we awake thirsty and unable to go back to sleep with a headache… sound familiar?!
No smoking before bed. The nicotine acts a stimulant.
Turn off the TV and computer. These stimulate our brains and the light confuses our bodies into producing more cortisol which keeps us alert and awake.
Work out. As hard as it is to find the motivation when suffering sleep deprivation, exercising will tire your body while giving your mind break. This can help you sleep, but try not to work out too late in the evening.
Meditation. This is the most effective way of ‘letting go’ of stresses, and giving your mind some peace. By focusing on your breath and watching your thoughts come and go with no attachment or judgment we are able to calm our minds as well as our body.
Body-scanning. A more tangible way of detaching from the burning issue of ‘not sleeping’ while in bed is to body scan; tense each part of your body for a few seconds, starting with your feet, and then relax. Move up to the next body part, slowly working upwards towards the crown of your head.
Have a healing massage with guided meditation at your home. Lomax stress busting, healing massage will dissolve physical tension while encouraging you to bring your attention to your breath helping you drift into a meditative state relaxing mind, body and spirit.
For any more information on coping with insomnia please contact Lomax Bespoke Health.