Refueling Your Body: Tips and Tricks to Fall Fast Asleep the Night Before an Exciting Event
Everybody’s been there at one time or another. It’s the night before a special event, and you can’t fall asleep, no matter what you do. Your mind has a mind of its own and simply won’t shut up. Every little sound becomes a distraction to keep you alert. You worry about the next day, and doing so makes it even harder to fall asleep and stay that way ‘til morning.
What makes us fall asleep?
The National Institutes of Health explains that two factors contribute to human sleep. Circadian rhythm is one, and the other is the way the urge to sleep accumulates over the course of a day. The circadian rhythm, which is a facet of the body’s internal biological clock, may be reprogrammed over a period of time. It’s not nearly as easy to alter as it is to accumulate daily sleep urge.
Limit daytime naps to less than one hour. Napping any more than that is a guaranteed way to make it hard for yourself to fall asleep at bedtime. Use an Android app such as Alarm Clock for Me to wake you with your favorite music at the conclusion of your catnap.
How important is pre-event sleep?
If you fail to attain a full eight hours’ sleep the night before a major event, it’s not the end of the world, say sleep experts at the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. Scott Ries is Associate Professor and Administrative Director of the Mood Disorders clinic at the institute. According to Ries, most people can function just fine, even after missing a night or two of sleep. He also notes that when we worry about not sleeping, we activate a part of our brain that keeps us awake and on the lookout for danger.
Professor Ries explained, “If I go to bed saying I have to do something, and I’m worried that I am not going to do it, then I am going to activate the threat center in the brain, and my brain is not going to want me to sleep. So the better approach is to say, Yes, it would be great if I could get a good night’s sleep; but if I don’t, it’s not the end of the world.”
Things to try if you can’t fall asleep
First, stop worrying. If you cannot fall asleep after twenty minutes, get out of bed and do something else. Take a warm -not hot- bath scented with lavender flowers. Do a crossword puzzle or sip a cup of chamomile tea. Set an app like Alarm Clock for Me to lull you to dreamland with gentle music. Let it play all night, or set the app to turn the music off after a predetermined period of time.
We hope you’ll be able to snooze sweetly the night before your big event and every night. If you cannot, don’t sweat it. Greet the new morning with gratitude and get on with your day.
Meg Andrews is a creative woman who enjoys crafts and writing. She plays the violin and piano and is a crazy cat lady too!
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