One bad night of sleep can impact your whole day. But sometimes the pressure to get better sleep can actually be the thing that's making it a challenge.
You might be doing everything right in order to fall asleep, but sleep anxiety can still prevent you from dozing off. Or maybe you fall asleep OK, but then you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night. Your mind instantly starts spiraling about how this will be just another bad night, making it impossible to get back to sleep.
If you're dealing with scenarios like these, there's one nighttime ritual that can help reset your mind and get your sleep back on track.
Expert Tip of the Day: Use This Bedtime Ritual to Ease Sleep Anxiety
Anxiety is a common roadblock for people trying to get better sleep. And, often, they're anxious about getting a good night's rest.
If you're dealing with sleep anxiety, it can help to practice a little gratitude before you go to bed, Dr. Mike Varshavski, board-certified family medicine physician, said recently on the TODAY show.
"One of the best things to combat that anxiety," he says, is to simply think of or write down three positive things that happened to you that day.
Why It Matters
It's natural and even helpful to have a little bit of anxiety, Varshavski said. "It's what prevented us from dancing around in the prairies when there was a lion or bear running around," he quipped.
But when anxiety is preventing you from getting good sleep, that's worth your attention.
"What you do is actually remind your brain to have a little bit of positivity," he explained. "You write just three simple positive things that happened in your life, and that reprograms your ability to fall asleep, it drives down that anxiety and allows you fall asleep because anxiety is the enemy of sleep."
Treatments for sleep anxiety include therapy (particular cognitive-behavioral therapy) and anti-anxiety medications, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
How to Get Started
Managing sleep anxiety is just one piece of getting consistent, good quality sleep.
"You want to go through all the phases of sleep in order to wake up and feel (restored)," Varshavski said. "It’s not just sleeping the correct hours, it’s sleeping the same consistent hours."
And that actually starts in the morning by waking up and getting early light exposure, he said, adding, "If you get that early morning light, it sets your circadian rhythm."
Keeping a consistent wake-up time also helps you fall asleep around the same time because you'll get tired at a consistent point in the day.
Once it's time to wind down, opt for a cooler room rather than a warm one, Varshavski said.
And if you find yourself falling asleep without problems but waking up in the middle of the night, Varshavski said it may be a result of consuming substances that reduce your sleep quality. That can include alcohol, as well as caffeine after 2 p.m., he said.
TODAY’s Expert Tip of the Day series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.
