5 Steps to Improved Sleep

More days than not, you feel sluggish and lack the energy you need to get through your day thanks to a lack of sleep. 

You’re far from alone in this — between 50 and 70 million Americans have a sleep disorder and more than one-third of adults in the United States aren’t getting enough sleep each night.

Whether your lack of sleep is due to a sleep disorder or you just aren’t getting enough sleep, the team here at Northern Virginia Psychiatric Group wants to share some great strategies for sleeping well.

The importance of sleep

Before we get into some best practices for sleep, we want to quickly touch on why sleep is such an important piece of your overall wellness puzzle.

When you sleep, your body takes this time to perform some important functions, such as sorting through the day's events to create memories or resetting your hormones. Your cardiovascular system also uses this time for a much-needed break — your breathing and heart rates lower, as does your blood pressure, when you sleep.

Our point here is that a lack of sleep leads to far more than just daytime fatigue and can have no small impact on your physical and mental health.

Strategies for solid sleep

To boost your physical and mental health, you should be getting between seven to nine hours a night of sleep. And restful and restorative deep sleep at that.

So, if you’re having problems with sleep, we recommend:

1. Creating the ideal sleep environment

It’s always a good idea to make sure that your bedroom encourages good sleep. As examples, ensure that your mattress is supportive, the room is dark, and the temperature is just right — not too hot and not too cold.

We also recommend that this space has limited distractions, which means keeping the TV out, which brings us to our next best practice.

2. No screens before bedtime

The screens we all have our noses in can wreak havoc on your melatonin at night, the hormone that regulates your sleep cycles. The blue light that screens emit can prevent production of melatonin, so a great way to prepare your body for sleep is to avoid screens for about an hour before bed.

3. Keep a sleep schedule

Another great way to influence your circadian (sleep) rhythms is to stick to a schedule for sleeping — go to bed around the same time each night, and wake at the same time each morning.

4. De-stress before sleep

Many of our patients have great success with certain practices before sleep, such as:

• Meditation
• Deep-breathing exercises
• Body scans
• Listening to music

Each of these is a mindfulness practice that quiets your brain and relaxes your body to invite sleep.

5. Get help

If, despite these practices, you still aren’t getting enough sleep, don’t wait to get help. Our team specializes in sleep disorders, and we can get to the bottom of your sleep disturbances. Once we identify the underlying issue, we can get you on the road to restorative sleep.

If you have more questions about how to improve your sleep or you’d like help with your sleep disorder, please don’t hesitate to call our office in Fairfax, Virginia, at 571-748-4588, or contact us online to schedule your  appointment today.