Sleep “Dos and Dont’s” – the Chiropractic recommendation

In order to achieve a proper night’s sleep, there are multiple recommended “Dos and Don’ts”, which aim to maximise your quality of sleep and comfort, and minimise your discomfort and inability to sleep.

A list of the before sleep “Do’s” consist of:

• Stick to a schedule:
  –  If you sleep late on the weekend, you’ll get Sundaynight insomnia. Instead, go to bed and get up at about the same times everyday.
• Avoid caffeine and nicotine
  – They are addictive stimulants and keep you awake.  Smokers experience withdrawal symptoms at night, and they have a harder time both falling asleep and waking up.
• A slightly cool room is ideal:
  – This mimics your internal temperature drop during sleep
  – Studies show that warm hands and feet induce sleep more quickly by increasing blood circulation necessary to cool the core body temperature.  A temperature control bed surface that provides warmth especially in the feet and leg area will help induce sleep faster.

A list of the before sleep “Don’ts” consist of:

• Don’t eat or drink a lot before bedtime:
  – Don’t eat spicy or fatty foods before bed.  They cause heartburn.
  – If you frequently get heartburn, avoid raising the upper part of your body with pillows, because this may put a strain on your back. Instead, sleep on your left side for relief.
  – If you get the munchies, eat something that triggers serotonin, which makes you sleepy.
  – Carbohydrates (bread or cereal)
  – Foods like milk, tuna, or turkey may help.
  – Don’t drink alcohol near bedtime.  It may cause you to wake up repeatedly, snore, and possible develop sleep apnea.
• Don’t rely on sleeping pills:
  – Check with your doctor before using sleeping pills.
  – Make sure they don’t interact with other medications or with an existing medical condition
  – Use the lowest dosage and never mix alcohol and sleeping pills.
  – If you feel sleepy or dizzy during the day, talk to your doctor about changing the dosage or discontinuing the pills
• Exercise:
  – For better sleep, the best time to exercise is in the afternoon.  However exercising within 3 hours of sleeping may making falling asleep more difficult by stimulating the body and raising the core body temperature. Lowering core body temperature signals the onset of sleep.