Sleep is one of the most common things patients ask me about at the clinic. Trouble falling asleep, waking at 2am, or waking unrefreshed: these are some of the most draining problems a person can carry, because they colour every other part of health.
There is no single trick that fixes sleep. But in my experience there are a handful of simple evening habits that, done consistently, create the conditions for it. These are the ones I return to again and again.
1. Give the day a finish line
Our nervous system needs a signal that the working day is over. Choose a consistent time in the evening after which there is no work, no emails and no problem-solving. What you do after that line, a shower, a walk around the block, making tomorrow’s lunch, becomes a ritual that tells the body it is safe to wind down.
2. Dim the lights, dim the screens
Bright overhead light and screens in the late evening push the body clock later. In the last hour before bed, use lamps instead of main lights and put the phone somewhere that is not the bedside table. If you do use screens, make them boring ones.
3. Watch the afternoon caffeine and evening sugar
Caffeine after lunch is an obvious culprit, but sugary snacks late at night can also disturb sleep for some people, as blood sugar dips overnight. If evening sweets are a habit you would like to shift, I wrote about my own approach in 5 ways to quit sugar.
4. Warm feet, cool room
An old piece of advice that holds up: the body falls asleep more easily when the room is cool but the extremities are warm. Socks in bed or a brief warm shower before sleep both work.
5. Get morning light
Good sleep starts in the morning. Ten minutes of outdoor light soon after waking anchors the body clock, which makes the evening wind-down far easier. Sunglasses off, coffee in hand is fine.
When sleep needs more support
If sleep has been difficult for months, or it is tangled up with stress, pain or other health concerns, it may be worth looking at the whole picture together. In a naturopathy consultation we go through sleep, diet, stress and energy in detail, and treatments such as acupuncture may assist with the tension and restlessness that often sit underneath poor sleep. And as always, speak with your GP about persistent sleep problems.
Wishing you a good night’s rest, Ahil.
Any questions or to book in, feel free to contact Ahil at the Alexandria clinic on (02) 9341 5775 or by email at ahilnaturopath@gmail.com.
Ahil Naturopath/Acupuncture is a clinic located near Redfern, Alexandria and Waterloo. We also service areas across Sydney including Botany, Camperdown, Darlinghurst, Erskineville, Eveleigh, Mascot, Newtown, Rosebery, Surry Hills and Zetland.
We offer Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Cupping, Gua Sha (Scraping) and Moxibustion services in South-East, Eastern and Inner City of Sydney.