How many sheep does it take for you to sleep?

How many sheep does it take for you to sleep?

Everyone knows that a good sleep is a must – it improves memory and concentration and helps with weight loss – how many times have you heard personal trainers say “eat well, get plenty of rest”?
Well, since daylight savings, I’ve had some trouble getting to sleep. It’s frustrating spending the 3 hours after hitting the pillow listening to the sound of 2-tonne trucks racing each other down the highway. I’ve tried taking some sleeping pills but when I found myself trying to unlock my car door to realise I was trying to break into my neighbour’s car, I scrapped that. Listening to Chopa Deepak’s sleep hypnosis track helped me relax but when the track finished and the first rousing beats of Eye of the Tiger came on, well….
So I started researching and below are popular tips from experts on how to induce sleep and decrease the time it takes to sleep. Let me know if you’ve tried any of these and whether they helped you fall asleep –

• Have the right materials. Is your bed too soft or too hard? Your pillow too flat? Having an unsuitable mattress/pillow not only makes sleeping uncomfortable, but you may wake up with back aches and joint pains. It’s important to have pillows and mattresses that offer support and yield to the contours of your body. Granted, good mattresses and pillows can be quite expensive but seeing as we spend a third of our lives in bed, they’re worth investing in.

• Keep your bedroom cool and dark. Cover your windows with heavy drapes and don’t expose yourself to bright lights before bedtime. If you have dimmers, turn the lights down at least one hour before sleep. If you like to read before bed, use your bedside lamp light, provided it uses low-wattage bulbs.
• Consider white machine noises or as Dr Michael Breuse, author of Beauty Sleep suggests, create your own white noise by setting your radio between two stations and keeping the volume low. The sound apparently drowns out all other noises. If all else fails, reach for the ear plugs.

• Don’t look at your clock. Looking at the minutes ticking by will only stress you out more and keep that much-needed sleep at bay.

• If you’re still awake within 20 minutes of your head hitting the pillow, get up and do something else that’s relaxing – like reading a book or watching TV. Just make sure you don’t read or watch anything that requires too much thinking so mystery-thriller novels/shows/movies are definitely out.

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. If this isn’t plausible, especially on the weekends (after all, who wants to sleep in at 10am and wake up at 6am?), deviate from your usual sleeping and waking times by no more than 2 hours.

• If you’re the type who goes to bed, stressing over what you have to do for the next day, experts say writing down what your stresses are and how you plan to resolve them will help clear and settle your mind.

• Avoid napping during the day. If you’re extremely tired, nap no more than 30 minutes no less than 6 hours before your regular sleeping time.

• Don’t exercise at least three hours before bedtime.

• Consider aromatherapy or sprinkle a few drops of lavender on your pillow.

• Have your partner give you a massage. Or, better yet, have sex. It’s a great stress reliever and relaxes your body.

• No caffeine, nicotine or alcohol at least four hours before bedtime. Limit your caffeine intake for the day. Dr Breuse says that caffeine can stay in your system for up to 14 hours. If you have coffee or tea in the morning, a few fizzy drinks throughout the day and another cup of coffee or tea after dinner, you would have enough caffeine in your system to keep you awake. Smoking before bed may help you relax but nicotine has the same effects as caffeine and while alcohol may help you sleep (as my mother declared while waving around a bottle of beer and promptly collapsing in an armchair and snoring away), it can lead to nightmares, headaches and sweats that may keep you awake throughout the night and groggy the next day.

• Avoid heavy meals three hours before bedtime to prevent indigestion. If you’re craving, snack on sleep-friendly foods like cereals, bananas, pumpkins and peanuts and sip on warm milk or herbal tea.

• Use your bedroom solely for sleeping and relaxing – no working on your laptop, playing video games, exercising in, etc.

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