Here's how you should use your bed to be able to fall asleep
| Mar 9, 2020, 11:25 IST
So many people struggle with insomnia these days that it's beginning to make us feel as if you really need to be under a sleeping curse (like sleeping beauty) to actually get any sleep nowadays. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't know that they're supposed to use their beds in certain ways only and do only certain things in their bed. As per a leading expert, you may use your bed for three things only - sleep, sex and sickness.
These are the three s's or rather the holy grail of what to do while in bed. Everything else like watching TV, scrolling through social media, yelling at someone on the phone and even reading a book (yikes!) needs to happen outside of your bed. Yes, you read that right. The problem is that when people do things other than the 3 s's in bed, it can act as a stimulant to inducing wakefulness and most people don't even realise it.
So, people who are healthy and get enough sleep feel simulations of sleepiness when they're in bed as opposed to people with insomnia. And the reason for this is that people with insomnia spend so much time lying awake in bed rather than sleeping that after a point their brain automatically begins to associate insomnia with their beds.
So, what can you do to combat this behaviour? A few simple things - get out of bed if you can't fall asleep within 15-30 minutes. And get out immediately if you find yourself getting anxious and tired or frustrated. Walk into another room with the lights turned off or low and make sure not to do anything that can stimulate wakefulness in your brain (yes, we're talking about scrolling through Instagram).
Do something super relaxing in this room like praying or meditating for a while. Eventually, when you're relaxed enough your body will tell you that you need to be asleep. When this feeling of sleepiness returns, you should return to your bed as well. Make sure to do this every time you're unable to fall asleep in bed and eventually your brain will begin to associate your bed with feeling sleepy. Try this and see if it works. Stay tuned for more updates.
These are the three s's or rather the holy grail of what to do while in bed. Everything else like watching TV, scrolling through social media, yelling at someone on the phone and even reading a book (yikes!) needs to happen outside of your bed. Yes, you read that right. The problem is that when people do things other than the 3 s's in bed, it can act as a stimulant to inducing wakefulness and most people don't even realise it.
So, people who are healthy and get enough sleep feel simulations of sleepiness when they're in bed as opposed to people with insomnia. And the reason for this is that people with insomnia spend so much time lying awake in bed rather than sleeping that after a point their brain automatically begins to associate insomnia with their beds.
So, what can you do to combat this behaviour? A few simple things - get out of bed if you can't fall asleep within 15-30 minutes. And get out immediately if you find yourself getting anxious and tired or frustrated. Walk into another room with the lights turned off or low and make sure not to do anything that can stimulate wakefulness in your brain (yes, we're talking about scrolling through Instagram).
Do something super relaxing in this room like praying or meditating for a while. Eventually, when you're relaxed enough your body will tell you that you need to be asleep. When this feeling of sleepiness returns, you should return to your bed as well. Make sure to do this every time you're unable to fall asleep in bed and eventually your brain will begin to associate your bed with feeling sleepy. Try this and see if it works. Stay tuned for more updates.