How You Can Prevent Chronic Insomnia

Millions of Americans have trouble sleeping and chronic insomnia is much more common than people realize. In many cases, simple lifestyle changes can work wonders in helping you get a good night’s sleep. When you learn how you are sabotaging your sleep patterns, you can make the necessary changes and begin to fall asleep much easier, and stay asleep for longer periods of time.

What Causes Insomnia?

There are a number of factors that can cause insomnia:

• Anxiety
• Major life changes
• Depression
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Certain medications like asthma, or cold medicines
• Use of caffeine, tobacco or alcohol
• Exposure to light at night, such as through smartphone or computer screens

How Do You Know If You Have Insomnia?

You may have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Difficulty in falling asleep at night
• Waking up too early
• Waking up during the night and having trouble falling asleep again
• Feeling tired after a night’s sleep
• Difficulty in paying attention or concentrating on tasks

How Do You Get Rid of Insomnia?

Chronic insomnia doesn’t have to be a problem. Take the initiative to find the underlying cause. Once you know what is keeping you awake, you can begin to take the steps you need to change your situation.

Create Healthy Habits

Creating healthy habits means you have to take a close look at some of the things you do during an ordinary day.

• Eliminate caffeine – if you must have coffee, drink decaf
• Improve your diet by eliminating junk foods that contain additives and preservatives, and replace them with fresh foods that are not processed
• Include natural supplements to support what your diet does not provide
• Exercise regularly to keep your body at peak efficiency

Learn to Calm the Mind and Body

Relaxing the mind is just as important as relaxing the body. Yoga and Pilates allow you to combine exercise with various levels of meditation to achieve a simple balance. They help to relieve your stress, anxiety and frustration that will keep your mind running hours into the night. Include the following in your daily routine:

• Stretch several times throughout the day.
• Include a few meditation exercises in your daily routine.
• Try yoga and combine both to create a peaceful, relaxing time that will allow you to de-stress and clear your mind before you try to sleep.

What Can Be Done to Prevent Insomnia?

Changes take time, but once you start implementing the following, you will gradually realize you are sleeping much better.

6 Tips to Prevent Insomnia

1. Create a healthy routine around your bedtime.
2. Remove televisions and computers from your bedroom.
3. Make sure the cell phone is placed as far as possible away from your bed.
4. If you use your phone as your alarm clock, buy a conventional alarm to keep near your bed.
5. Try to go to bed at the same time each night.
6. Establish a routine and stick to it.

If it becomes hard for you to complete regular activities during the day, visit your doctor to find out the cause of the problem, and how insomnia can be cured or prevented.