As promised, here’s Part Two of our guest blogger Peter Litchfield’s post on employing natural methods for better sleep! Having been through chronic insomnia himself, Peter spent several years researching the topic and has developed a program, Six Steps to Sleep, recently touted by the National Sleep Foundation, to help people achieve better sleep.

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How To Sleep Better In 10 Easy Steps – (part two)

The Power of Routine

When it comes to sleep the body responds best to routine, which is why sleep quality deteriorates when we try to compensate for lost sleep by sleeping in late and taking naps during the day. The sleep-wake cycle is thrown out of sync and the body doesn’t know when it is supposed to be asleep. It becomes tired at odd hours and doesn’t shutdown when you require it to at bedtime. This situation can quickly spiral and trigger a bout of insomnia, which must then be treated using good sleep hygiene methods.

If you are prone to periods of poor sleep, or struggle to sleep well in general, you should go to bed at roughly the same time each night and wake at the same time each morning. Regardless of how long it takes you to fall asleep or how much sleep you get during the night, get up at the same time the next day, even on weekends. Your body will soon be longing for your head to hit the pillow at the end of the day, and will naturally begin wanting to sleep 6-8 hours before your usual waking time.

That said, getting a healthy sleep isn’t just about the routine of sleep, it’s also about routine preparation and relaxation. Give yourself ample time to wind down in the evening and put the day to bed before putting yourself to bed. Set strict rules for the cultivation of mental spaciousness in the evening.

Here is a list of 10 things you can do to create a mindset conducive to getting a good night’s sleep:

1. Stop working on your computer at least 3 hours before attempting to sleep.

2. Stop eating at least 3 hours before bed, and avoid any stimulants such as caffeine or high-sugar content foods in the evening.

3. Stop playing on digital devices such as a phone or tablet at least 2 hours before going to bed.

4. Do not engage in long telephone conversations, debates or arguments close to bedtime. Keep your stress levels as low as possible.

5. Heard the phrase “tidy life, tidy mind”? Well, making sure your bedroom is free of clutter will help your mind de-clutter too. The bedroom should be spacious and relaxing, a place where your mind can be free of distraction.

6. Make sure you change the air in your bedroom once a day so that your respiratory system can function smoothly while you sleep. Excessive dust and odors will cause you to sneeze, snore and prevent smooth breathing.

7. Don’t conduct any other activity in your bedroom other than sleep and sex. The bedroom should be a sanctuary for sleep, not a place for work or play.

8. Bring your day to a close by spending the last hour before bedtime doing something quiet that requires very little brainpower. You might choose to stretch, meditate or tidy up a little to put the day to bed.

9. Try light reading for 10 minutes if your mind is still overactive when you get into bed, but make sure you use a low wattage bedside lamp and turn the light away from you so that you aren’t overly stimulated by the brightness.

10. Don’t obsess over lost sleep. One common trait in all serial bad sleepers is the compulsive analyzing of lost sleep and their sleep habits. Getting a good night’s sleep is as much psychological as it is physical, which means worrying about not sleeping enough is only going to make the problem worse. We all have a bad night now and again, and the best way to ensure an odd night doesn’t become a habit is to forget about it and move on. Get on with your day as you would if you had slept like a baby. Continue your routine and focus on being positive, healthy and happy.

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Peter Litchfield is the author of “Six Steps to Sleep,” the popular, natural program that cures insomnia and improves overall sleep health.

We’re pleased to introduce our newest guest blogger, Peter Litchfield, author of “Six Steps to Sleep.” A good, sound night’s sleep is something that doctors all recommend, and unfortunately many of us struggle to achieve. Through many years of discovery and research, Peter learned how to sleep better and cure his own insomnia once and for all. Along with his book, he created a program, also titled “Six Steps to Sleep” which employs natural methods to better sleep, and which he’s shared with more than 100,000 people. His program was recently recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.
He’s generously shared his knowledge here with a guest post featuring not just six, but 10 recommended steps for a good night’s sleep – which will appear in Part Two of this post!

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How To Sleep Better In 10 Easy Steps (Part One)

Getting a good night’s sleep should be an easy, natural process; the day ends, you go to bed, sleep for 7 or 8 hours and wake feeling refreshed and raring to go. But for the large majority, the reality is quite different.

We’re sleeping 20% less than we did 100 years ago, and it’s costing us our health. In fact, the problem is so bad that 10 million Americans use prescription sleep aids, and more than 30% of the population suffers from insomnia. Lack of sleep has been linked to all sorts of health problems, including weight gain, weakened immunity, depreciating cardiovascular health and increased risk of depression, not to mention the risk of accidents – the National Roads and Motorists Association (NRMA) estimates fatigue is involved in one in six fatal road accidents.

Compounding our inability to get a proper night’s sleep is the allure of the 24-hour world, which is fuelled by the internet that enables non-stop communication, game playing and retail therapy. Add to the mix an increasing amount of stress and anxiety due to working too many hours and worrying about how to make ends meet and you’ve got the perfect recipe for insomnia.

Understanding the Human Sleep-Wake Cycle

In my experience, 90% of insomnia cases are self-inflicted, and I include my previous 15-year struggle in that figure, too. This might sound harsh to some, but the reality is that there are very few people who have insomnia because of a related health issue. Yes it’s true that many people who suffer depression and anxiety experience insomnia, but it’s also true that lack of sleep contributes greatly to these conditions, too.

In one major study of 10,000 adults, people with insomnia were five times more likely to develop depression. Lack of sleep can be an even greater risk factor for anxiety. In the same study, people with insomnia were 20 times more likely to develop panic disorder – a type of anxiety disorder. (Source: Resource from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School)

We all have the ability to improve the health of our sleep-wake cycle by making positive lifestyle and environment adjustments, and doing so has a hugely positive effect on the way we feel, think and function. Once we educate ourselves on the process of sleep and the things that can interfere with the sleep-wake cycle, it is very easy to improve sleep quality.

For example, simply understanding that the sleep-wake cycle has been designed to work in tandem with the light and darkness of day offers insight as to how humans are supposed to sleep; it’s no coincidence that melatonin levels rise as darkness falls and remain elevated through the night. It’s also worth considering that our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t have streetlights, bedside lamps, televisions and such. They slept within a few hours of sun down and rose with the sunlight, enduring little mental stimulation through the evening. This is the natural human cycle, and shifting your sleep pattern in alignment with that cycle will improve sleep quality and overall health.

As wonderful as artificial light is, we abuse its capability at the expense of our sleep. Staring at your computer, phone or tablet screen into the early hours of the morning is likely to affect the quality of your sleep. This is because the brain responds to stimulation, thus the modern term ‘LCD insomnia’.

The fact is that humans have not adapted to the 24-hour lifestyle of excessive evening stimulation, nighttime food binging, all-night partying and surviving the day propped up by stimulants to combat lack of sleep. And so the most positive thing you can do to improve your sleep health is reduce exposure to brain-stimulating activities in the evening and develop a sleep-friendly routine.

(Stay tuned for Part Two – featuring the 10 tips for better sleep!)

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Peter Litchfield is the author of “Six Steps to Sleep,” the popular, natural program that cures insomnia and improves overall sleep health.