Quality Of Life
Chronic restless sleep can have a major impact on your quality of life, causing daytime sleepiness, irritability, weight gain, headaches and trouble concentrating. It may also reduce your performance levels on the job or at school. Poor sleep quality can even lower your immunity making you more vulnerable to disease. Anxiety can also be both a symptom and a cause of restless sleep. If restless sleep happens regularly, these issues may become increasingly problematic and even dangerous if you are drowsy while driving or operating heavy machinery.
How to Stop Restless Sleep?
To reduce or eliminate restless sleep we can start by avoiding obvious causes:
Avoid eating too close to bedtime, not having enough time for your stomach to finish digesting. The time to stop eating before bed varies from person to person but generally you should stop eating at least 3 hours before bed.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine in the evening.
Avoid stimulating entertainment or video games.
Avoid using the computer for at least an hour before bed. The blue screen can reduce your melatonin.
Try to get some physical exercise during the day.
Lifestyle Changes to Help Reduce Restless Sleep
Since restless sleep is often the result of chronic stress that we regularly encounter in life, there are several lifestyle changes we can make to reduce this stress and improve our sleep - as well as so many other health issues related to chronic stress.
1. Work Life Balance
With hectic work schedules, family obligations, health situations, major life changes, and even celebratory moments that require time and effort to plan and attend. Stress is a part of life and while acute stress can motivate and help us focus on a task, chronic stress has serious ramifications and restless sleep is one of the first signs of a problem.
2. Let Go Of Life Stresses
Tossing and turning over everything that needs to be accomplished the next day, the argument you had with your boss or significant other, money problems, or perhaps having received an unfavorable health diagnosis can linger if you don’t address the issue. Allowing anything to interfere with sleep isn’t going to change a situation that evening or prepare you mentally and physically in finding a solution in the light of day.
3. Self Care
Taking care of yourself is a significant step one, as well as admitting you may need a little help. Delegating tasks at home and in the workplace can help lighten your load and assist you in getting your tasks completed. Sometimes we associate asking for help as a form of weakness, when in fact, it’s an act of empowerment. Nobody can do it all every day and some people have certain resources, skills, and time that can complement our own strengths.
4. Reach Out to Friends
Whether it’s helping prepare dinner, transportation to appointments, or simply guidance during a difficult transition in your life, reaching out to others can only benefit you and believe it or not, also may help them. People want to be useful and appreciated. It’s not a burden to lean on those who offer or want to help.
5. Professional Help
In the instance of more serious stressors such as a death in the family, major diagnosis, loss of employment, or financial crisis, seeking professional help in the form of a counselor, financial advisor, or spiritual/religious guide is encouraged. The anxiety and emotional tumult of any of these scenarios can create chronic stress in the body and that is counterproductive to the rest the body needs to heal or repair itself.
6. Meditation
Meditation has been shown in study after study to have a profound and lasting effect in reducing chronic stress and relieving sleep problems. A regular meditation routine is very beneficial especially to do some before bedtime.
Relief is Just a Click Away
You can find relief through mind body meditation focused on helping you get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer check out Better Sleep Meditation.
Written By Neal Clark