Insomnia Tips
If you suffer with difficulty sleeping or insomnia then it may be time to re-evaluate your lifestyle and find ways of getting away from your usual routine so that you can relax.
Insomnia results from a nervous system that is overactive and therefore fails to calm down appropriately when the time comes to nod off. Office work and prolonged sitting can impact your brain & inhibit sleeping capacity.
The aim of any intervention to improve sleep is to decrease the activation of the stress (sympathetic) component of the central nervous system and increase the activation of the relaxation (parasympathetic) part of the nervous system. Many tips to improve sleep focus on the environment around bed time and how to wind down at night. These are all valid approaches; however, it is difficult to wind down at night if your nervous system has been strongly over-activated on a continual basis throughout the day. Movement of any kind will help to decrease activation of the stress centres of the brain. Consequently, office work and prolonged sitting can impact on hormonal release and negatively impact on sleep. The best time to exercise is lunch time as this will increase exposure to natural sunlight and help regulate circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is the natural sleep-wake cycle regulation within the pineal gland of the brain,
Here are a few tips to switch from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance and encourage a deep natural sleep:
1. Deep diaphramatic breathing. Take a deep breath through the stomach and & feel the ribs lift up & out as you breath in
3. Decrease coffee, tea, chocolate
4. Walk in sunlight during day
5. Minimise sitting time
6. Avoid weights or intense exercise, especially later in the evening. (some people find mild or moderate exercise in the evenings very beneficial for inducing sleep)
Healthy Tips brought to you by Naas Physio Clinic.
Call the Physio Clinic Naas on: (045) 874 682
