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Expert advice: 5 Tips to Get a Better Night's Sleep Tonight - About Health | Blog

Expert advice: 5 Tips to Get a Better Night's Sleep Tonight

Sleeping, like breathing and walking, is something we all take for granted. However, when insomnia strikes, it can feel as catastrophic as an asthma attack or spinal injury. Without an adequate amount of sleep, our health, wellbeing and relationships all suffer tremendous strain – ask any parent of a newborn! The following expert tips, most of which come from America’s high-profile Mayo Clinic, can help you get a better night’s sleep – tonight, and every night.

1. Routines are relaxing

Our body has its own rhythms, and embracing routines can help us reconnect with our natural sleep-wake cycle. It’s important to wake up and go to bed at about the same time every day, even on weekends. In warm weather, try sleeping with the curtains open, so that sunlight wakes you up naturally. Having a pre-bed routine can also help tell your body it’s time to unwind: Take a warm bath or shower, and read a book, meditate or listen to peaceful music with the lights lowered. Clinical psychologist and sleep specialist Dr Michael J Breus suggests that for some people, making a list of all the stressors of the day, along with a plan to deal with them, can act as “closure” to the day. If you don't fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes, get up and do something else so you don’t lie there stressing. Go back to bed when you're tired, say the Mayo Clinic experts.

2. Take a supplement

Another way to reconnect with your body’s natural rhythms, known as ‘circadian rhythms’, is to take a supplement that is known to help. A 2008 study by the Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry found that resveratrol, a natural polyphenol, can regulate the expression of circadian clock genes. Another study by sleep researchers at the University of Pittsburgh showed that changes to our sleep patterns begin in middle age, most likely related to gradual age-related changes in our biological clock. Resveratrol is also known to have anti-ageing properties to support healthy ageing. Other supplements thought to help improve sleep are the neuro-hormone melatonin and the precursor to our feel-good neurotransmitter, serotonin, called 5-HTP. Melatonin is only available on prescription in New Zealand, but is available over the counter in the USA. 5-HTP is readily available and is usually considered safe for longer term use, while melatonin is a better choice for short term use. People on mood-elevating medication should not take 5-HTP. Magnesium is also an important mineral required for sleep maintenance and helps to support and soothe our nervous system. Avoid using products which favour magnesium oxide (aim for citrate, aspartate, orotate or phosphate forms) and if sleep is elusive, take a dedicated magnesium supplement every night to ensure you are getting an optimal dose.

3. Cut caffeine, nicotine and alcohol

Sounds obvious, but it really is key. Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are all stimulants that can keep you awake – even if they feel relaxing at the time! It takes eight hours for our bodies to eliminate caffeine, so avoid it from mid-afternoon, or midday if you are very sensitive. Alcohol might help you drop off initially, but it often results in a more wakeful sleep later on.

4. Keep your bedroom calm and comfy

Your bed is for sleeping and sex – not arguing, eating, Facebook or watching TV. Keep it sacred, and banish all non-essential bed activities to the living room or office. Your mattress and pillow should be as comfortable and high-quality as you can afford. If you suffer from allergies, invest in a latex-based mattress and pillows. Make sure the bed is big enough; do your kids and pets really need to climb on board too? Think about setting limits on how often they share sleeping-space with you. Make sure your room is dark (wear an eye-mask if full darkness isn’t possible) and quiet (try earplugs, too!). Most people sleep better in a cool room, so crack open the window and lay an extra blanket on the bed.

5. Eat right

Not too empty, not too full: keep your stomach fullness ‘just right’ in the hours before bed. Of course, it’s also important to avoid excessive liquids before bed – if you struggle to get to sleep the last thing you want is to be woken up by your bladder a couple of hours after you successfully nod off. The Mayo Clinic experts suggest that some foods can help promote sleep, including milk, tuna, pumpkin, avocados, almonds, eggs, peaches, apricots, oats, potatoes and bananas. Why not try our Antioxidant Nightcap Recipe, but if warmed milk isn’t your thing, enjoy a small cup of soothing chamomile tea before bedtime instead. Likewise, if you suffer from heartburn, avoid spicy or fatty foods at dinner time.