Hasn’t everyone had a night where you’ve stayed up late to put the finishing touches on your assignment due tomorrow? You’re exhausted and finally get to crawl into bed. Plot Twist: You can’t fall to sleep. What gives?! Now its four hours before you need to get up and your mind is in overdrive. You’re ready to sleep but your brain isn’t. What’s causing this and how do we overcome it?
Basically you’ve exhausted your brain with the stress of staying up to get your work done. This can cause you to temporarily lose the control to relax. This is usually followed by laying awake and saying to yourself “I need to go to sleep” which causes you to maintain consciousness through your efforts to force yourself into sleep. This vicious cycle is not only harmful to your current state of mind and energy but, it can lead to other longer term health issues like insomnia, weight gain and overall poor health. Good stress management practices can not only help you get a good night’s sleep, it helps you learn how to quiet the mind and relax the body at other high stress times of the day.
Air Flow – make sure your room is cool. If it’s too warm or stuffy, air flow is not ideal and your body is focusing on keeping itself cool versus sleeping
Cleanliness – some studies have shown a direct correlation between subconscious stress and clutter in their space. Keeping your room tidy will help your mind feel lighter and reduce your stress.
Light Exercise –Light exercise, such as ten minutes of yoga or a short walk outside (consider using the buddy system for safety) or even a short walk indoors around your residence can do wonders to release tension and help your mind to reset before you turn in.
Meditation – learn from those that meditate and find your inner peace. Lay on your back on your bed. Your arms should rest comfortable at your side and your legs out straight, relaxed. Ensure not to bend or cross your arms or legs as this can restricts blood circulation. Now close your eyes and focus on your breathing, taking deep low breaths in and out. Starting at your feet and working up your body, try to envision your body getting heavier and heavier. If your mind tries to think about your day or what you have to do tomorrow, refocus on your breathing to get your mind to stay on track.