5 Tips to Beat Insomnia and Sleep Better

Consider your bedding

This Old House blog post is a great place to begin your journey by looking for the best mattress choice for you and your partner. Ideally, treating your sleeplessness ought to start with the basics, and that means bedding. Having suitable bedding, from mattresses to linen, can really make the difference or at least minimize the problem somewhat. Duvets that are warm enough in winter, as well as lighter and airier options for summer, make bedtime that little bit better. Here are some tips to beat insomnia and sleep better.

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Beware of certain foods

Everyone knows that caffeine disturbs sleep, but not everyone realizes how many food and drink products contain it. Caffeine is present in quite a wide range of foodstuffs, with things like energy drinks holding far more than even strong coffee.  Sugary foods also interfere with sleep, as do foods high in capsaicin, such as curries and Mexican cuisine. Unfortunately, avoiding sugars by opting for diet drinks doesn’t work well either, since many synthetic sugars have the same effects as sugar itself on sleep cycles.

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Sleeping gadgets

There are gadgets and apps for everything nowadays, so it’s little surprise that there are some directed at sleep too. We’re all different, so it doesn’t hurt to try apps that promote certain routines or others that are designed to produce a sense of calm before bed.  There are the now-famous whale song recordings, but these are by no means all. Many focus on routines and avoiding certain habits leading up to sleep. Others monitor foods and other areas of intake, such as alcohol, etc. There’s something for everyone! 

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The psychology of sleep

Sleep is crucial to mental wellbeing, as we all know through experience. What many of us don’t know is quite how severe a mental health problem insomnia can be or how damaging long-term sleeplessness can be in even psychiatric terms.  Seeking psychological help for lack of sleep can be a great resource for those who have run out of options. But before you get to that stage, it may be worth doing a little research, just to take a peek at where the psychological community agree on the issue. 

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Conclusion: the philosophy of sleep

Sleeping, dreams, and related creative urges have long been of interest to the philosophical world, in much the same way as it interested Freud and Jung at the turn of the last century.  Certainly, sleep functions as a metaphor for a great many things in human life, and it can genuinely be of benefit for sufferers of insomnia to look into the philosophical, religious, and historical understanding of sleep. After all, humans have been sleeping for eons.  Meditation, as a regular practice, has been shown to be very beneficial in this area, and other practices such as habitual mindfulness are great too. Setting aside time before bed to be mindful or meditative can really assist even stubborn cases.  Above all and less important, the bed is an essential element to rest. You can try mattresses with cooling technology to improve your sleep. In all likelihood, some personalized blend of the above suggestions will assist the sleeplessness, at least to some extent. However, for chronic and stubborn insomnia, it may ultimately be necessary to consult a physician.