Millions of people have trouble sleeping. In fact, it is estimated that ten percent of Americans suffer from insomnia at any given time, and as a result, millions of sleeping pills are consumed each night. However, there are several things you can do that will significantly improve your sleep, and surprisingly, many insomniacs never use them. It is well known that sleep is affected by both physiological (body) and psychological (mind) factors, and both need to be addressed if you want to improve your sleep.

Body factors are related to what is called the “body clock.” Actually, there are several body clocks. One is directly related to sleep; several others are indirectly related in that they regulate the hormones your body releases at night, such as melatonin, serotonin, growth hormone, and cortisol. A clock also regulates your body temperature throughout the night. Under ideal circumstances, these clocks are all in sync.

The psychological or mental factors that affect your sleep are your thoughts, emotions, anxieties, stress, etc. They are usually associated with an overactive mind, and people with insomnia have been shown to have overactive minds; in particular, their minds are cluttered with anxious thoughts that create negative emotions and tensions that keep them from sleeping. You have to control both your biological clock and your thinking if you want to get a good night’s sleep. Five rules that will help you do this are as follows:

1. Start by resetting (or realigning) your biological clock.

Your biological clock is like an ordinary clock in that it has a 24-hour period and, like ordinary clocks, it can become misaligned. What does this mean? Your biological clock adjusts to your sleep and wake schedule, and because it knows this schedule, it tells your body when to get ready for bed and when to get up in the morning. As long as you keep a regular schedule, this watch will work effectively. But if you stay up late and start sleeping late, especially on the weekends, your biological clock may not adjust properly and you find that you either don’t sleep when you’re supposed to or wake up earlier than usual. In short, your biological clock has been thrown out of whack and needs to be reset.

Also, your biological clock controls your body temperature at night. Allow it to drop by one of two degrees until around 4:00 am and then slowly begin to rise. About two hours later he gives you a wake-up call. If your bedtime and wake-up times are irregular, this watch isn’t sure when to wake you up. Therefore, you need to reconfigure it by going back to a regular schedule.

2. Once your body clock resets, it must develop enough sleep drive, which in turn creates a sleep “pressure” that puts you to sleep.

You create a sleep drive by creating a “sleep debt.” Most people are awake for about 16 of the 24 hours a day. This means that they have an 8-hour sleep debt when they go to bed. However, if you’re having trouble sleeping, an 8-hour sleep debt may not be enough to put you to sleep quickly. Your sleep debt, which creates your sleep drive, increases if you stay awake and active as much as possible during the day. In particular, make sure you get as much sunlight as possible (it’s sunlight that increases your sleep drive). Also, you shouldn’t nap during the day (assuming you have insomnia), and you should make sure you don’t sleep late to catch up on any sleep you missed at night. If you missed any sleep (assuming you don’t sleep late), your sleep drive will be higher the next night because you’ll have a higher sleep debt. This will create additional “pressure” for you to sleep.

3. Make sure you “get ready” for sleep

Many people are tense and have anxious thoughts throughout the day (mainly due to our fast-paced, high-pressure society), and have trouble winding down before bed. Their mind is “on fire” all day and they can’t turn it off before they go to bed. However, it’s important to make sure you “let go” before you go to bed. There are usually two types of thoughts in their minds: non-emotional and emotional. The worst are emotional thoughts, but non-emotional thoughts (decisions, planning for the next day) can also be a problem. It is important to allow a “cooling down” period before bed to get rid of them. This means that you should spend at least half an hour (or better, an hour) relaxing and preparing for sleep.

• read
• watch TV (make sure it’s non-violent)
• take a warm bath
• to meditate

Make sure your mind is “quiet” before you go to bed. Also, you need to make sure you are sleepy. If you’re not sleepy, wait until you are.

4. Once in bed, don’t try to force yourself to sleep.

The goal, once you’re in bed, is to allow yourself to fall asleep as quickly as possible. If you’re awake for half an hour or more, don’t fall into the trap of trying to force yourself to sleep. This is, in fact, the worst thing you can do. Think back to when you were younger and slept well. Did you go to bed and “tried to sleep”? No, sleep just came, usually effortlessly. So don’t try to force yourself to sleep, let it come naturally. This may seem like it’s easier said than done. But if your sleep drive is well prepared and you have a good sleep debt, you will sleep. If you’re still awake after an hour or so, get up, go to another room, and read or meditate until you’re sleepy.

5. Quiet your mind

If you’re still having trouble, you’ll need to quiet your mind even more, and there are a couple of different approaches to this. The first thing is to clear the mind completely, to make it blank. Then think of a nice image: a mountain you’ve ever seen, a nice day at the beach, or a family gathering. Keep your mind on it. Relax and enjoy it until you fall asleep.

Finally, don’t worry if you don’t get 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Any sleep you miss will help build a better sleep drive for the following night. And don’t worry if you wake up at night. Accept it, relax, roll over and go back to sleep.