Many teens these days –including me- are struggling to sleep early at night. Many reasons like FOMO or phone addiction may keep teenagers awake at night. Sleep deprivation though, can have many negative side effects and increase levels of anxiety and depression. Some of these problems could be difficulty with memory or concentrating during class, more sick days off school due to tiredness, aggressive behavior, moodiness and a lot more.
Although this is an emerging problem, we should not forget some basic, and maybe some more advanced tips that will help you fall asleep easily and faster at night.
- Avoid consuming caffeine at least 3 hours before sleep.
- Listen to some music that calms you down before bed. Even if it’s rage rap, if it relaxes you, it does.
- Take a warm shower. Trust me in this one, warm showers at night are the best! They relax your muscles and make you feel clean and refreshed.
- Take 5 deep breaths and imagine all the stress leaving your body.
- Exercise. Exercising is a good way to get rid of excessive energy and make you fall asleep faster.
- Avoid napping during the day. Even if you didn’t sleep well last night, if you take a long nap in the afternoon, you break the cycle.
- Try the military method. Relax your face, from forehead to jaw, then release any tension in shoulders and arms and rest them on the sides. Then take a deep slow breath and relax your legs from hips to the tip of your toes. Finally, with your eyes closed, imagine a relaxing/peaceful scenery.
- Do not force yourself to fall asleep. This will only stress you out.
- Write down what you want to do before falling asleep. This will help you sort things in your head out and not having to worry about them.
- Try counting many sheep. This may sound stupid but it actually helps a lot!
In my opinion, even though most of these tips are common sense, it’s essential we don’t forget them because this problem seems to be quite big and growing even more. Some of these tips have actually helped me since I also struggle very much to fall asleep. Remember, it’s never too late to fix your sleep schedule!
Ειρήνη Τ.
Πηγές: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/treatment/what-do-when-you-cant-sleep
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/teenagers-and-sleep