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Reading or Watching Television

For people who frequently have trouble falling asleep, the most common self-cure is probably reading or watching television in bed.  However, these activities have a tendency to have the opposite effect.  How often will you continue reading a good book, even when you are totally exhausted, just so you can see how it ends? It does not really help put you to sleep.

Watching television, while you fall asleep, is another bad idea.  You will have a tendency to force yourself to stay awake, so you can see the end of a program.  If you manage to get to sleep, those loud and annoying infomercials are liable to wake you up in the middle of the night.  Then, you are back to square one.

A Snooze

You are so tired; you keep nodding off for a second or two.  You can barely keep your heard up or your eyes open. Maybe it would be okay to take a fifteen minute nap-maybe a half hour?  Not so much.  Your internal clock will get all out of whack.  If you take a nap now, you will have an even more difficult time going to bed later.

It is best to stay awake, so that your body is really looking forward to hitting that bed at night.  For some people, simply getting their body clock back on the right schedule will help immensely.  You need to know when it is time to stay awake and when it is time to sleep. Your head may know what time it is, but your body is still a wee bit charged from that power nap.

Vices

Many people try to medicate themselves with vices, when they cannot seem to fall asleep on their own.  But, this too is a big mistake.  For instance, you go to the fridge for that late-night snack. It may satisfy that gnawing hunger, but it will also provide your body with energizing fuel.  Whoops!

What about that cigarette to help you relax and calm down. Individuals claim that smoking helps them relax.  But, nicotine is actually a stimulant, which will only serve to keep you more awake at night.  If anything, maybe you need to quit smoking, or at least cut back after supper, so you can have a better chance of getting to sleep at night.

Then, there is alcohol as the solution to insomnia or some other sleep disorder.  Bad idea.  People who have difficulty sleeping are more likely to get stopped for a DWI or have a car accident.  It may help you get to sleep, but you are not likely to get the restorative sleep your body really needs.  It is better to avoid alcohol all together.  At the very least, you could become dependent on that drink for medicinal reasons.

Try, Try Again

If you cannot get to sleep, all you need to do is try, try again.  Oh, if only that were true!  But, in reality, the more you try, the harder it will become to fall asleep.  If you cannot sleep, get out of bed and go into another room.  Do not just lay there and toss and turn.  You will only succeed in making your partner lose sleep as well.

So, go into the other room and engage in an activity that is not stimulating.  Relax.  Have a cup of herbal tea-no caffeine!  Listen to some quiet music.  Then, when you feel like you might be able to fall asleep, try going back to bed again.

Making Up for Lost Time

Do not make the mistake of trying to sleep later in the morning, if you have had trouble going to bed the night before.  It will only make it more difficult to get to sleep tonight.  Instead, you need to work at getting your body on schedule.  If you go to bed and get up at the same time every day, you will have a better chance of sleeping.

In short, do not try to diagnose a sleep disorder and use self-imposed treatments.  If you have a legitimate reason for having trouble sleeping, like a newborn baby, this will pass.  But, if it has become chronic sleep deprivation, you need to see a doctor, and get the answer to your sleeplessness.