While sitting at your desk during the day or even watching television at home, you might feel the urge to close your eyes and drift off to sleep for a few minutes. If you don't get enough sleep at night, then this might be a regular occurrence. Before you take anything to get more sleep or even adjust your schedule, you need to know some of the signs of sleep deprivation. Staying hungry is a common sign as the body will want food for energy if it doesn't get enough sleep. An impact of this is that you gain weight. You might do things without thinking or find that your memory isn't as good as it once was because your mind isn't rejuvenating. Fortunately, there are some tips that will help you get more sleep at night so that the body is rested for the day.
Set a Schedule
Try to go to bed and get up at a certain time every day. It might not be the exact time, but try to keep it as close to the same as you can. This will get the body's clock on a routine so that it knows when it needs to sleep and when it needs to be awake. You should even get up at the same time on the weekends, even if your kids are out of school or you don't have to work. When you go to bed, if you don't fall asleep within about 20 minutes, then try reading a book or doing a crossword puzzle that is relaxing before going to bed again.
Chemical Help
There are medications and supplements, such as those from Vasayo, that you can take that will help to increase the amount of melatonin in the body. Monitor the amount of the supplements that you take, but for the most part, they are ideal in calming the mind and the body to make it easier to fall asleep at night. There are variety of supplements out there, including vitamins that you might not be getting during the day that would cause you to stay awake at night.
Sleeping Environment
Your bedroom shouldn't be a place that is lively and packed full of action. Create an environment that is comfortable. The bed should be a place where you can relax. If you can't sleep, it might be because the bed is too firm or not firm enough, which causes a misalignment with the back and the neck. Keeping the room cool and dark is the ideal way to fall asleep. Children and pets can sleep with you, but make sure they understand your nightly ritual—with pets that might mean that you have to train them a certain way. Avoid watching television in bed as this stimulates the mind to stay awake.
Getting Active
If you're not active during the day, then it can make you feel tired all the time, which doesn't help when you're ready to go to bed as the body stays rested. Try to get more physical activity during the day, such as walking, cleaning or another type of exercise. Avoid exercise before trying to fall asleep as you won't drift off for a few hours. The physical activity will tire out the body. It will begin to desire sleep to refuel for the next day.
From a loss of memory to trouble in making decisions, sleep deprivation affects the entire body. You'll find that it begins to affect the mind first before affecting the physical traits, such as tripping over things or not being able to hold onto things. By setting a schedule, avoiding caffeine before bed and getting proper help, you can get the body back to normal in a short time.