Three Solutions for Better Sleep

  For many adults today, getting enough sleep is a major problem. Many people try to run their lives on five or six hours of sleep each night, which is simply not enough. Other people, though, block out enough time for sleep but actually don’t get good sleep when they’re in bed. If you fall into this second category, here are some things you can do to get better sleep.

First, buy a new mattress if you need to. This is a big investment, but it will totally be worth it. Sometimes, an old spring mattress can keep you tossing and turning so that you never sleep well because it will put pressure spots on your body. Check out several mattresses before you buy one, and try to get one that is very comfortable for both you and your partner.

Next, invest in a sleep sound machine. This might sound off the wall, but one of the many reasons some people can’t sleep is because our world is just too loud. A white noise machine can use naturally soothing noises or simply fan-like noises that blend sounds from all frequencies into sounds that will drown out background noises in your room. You’ll never be awakened by minor noises again with a sleep noise machine.

Finally, make sure your room is as dark as possible. Another problem with the modern world is that with all our electric lighting, it’s next to impossible to find a place that is truly dark. However, your body produces sleep-inducing hormones when it’s in the dark, so it’s important that your bedroom be as dark as possible. Whether it means turning off the nightlight in the hall or investing in thick curtains with a light-blocking backing, having your room super dark will help you sleep more soundly each night.

So You Think You Have Insomnia?

Insomnia is actually a pretty common condition in adult sleepers, but it can take lots of different forms. In fact, it can actually be a symptom of another sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea or even restless legs syndrome. The primary symptom of insomnia is the inability to fall asleep and stay asleep when you need to, even if you’re actually really tired. If you’ve been having this symptom, it’s not quite time to see a doctor yet. First, start using some good sleep hygiene to see if it solves the problem, and if it doesn’t, then you can see a doctor.

One of the first things that you need is to be on a schedule. Set a bedtime and a waking up time, and stick to it, even on the weekends. Don’t try to go to sleep right after watching the news or messing around on the Internet, either, since so much visual stimulation can keep your brain hopping for a while. Instead, give yourself time to unwind with something like a warm bath, a soothing CD, or whatever else makes you unwind in the evenings.

Also, before you get into bed, turn on a sleep sound machine. Sometimes, people get woken up by subtle noises without even realizing it. Instead of dealing with these nighttime noises, use a white noise machine that will drown out any background noises from your home or neighborhood. Many people who think they have insomnia simply get woken up at inopportune times and are unable to go to sleep, either because their brains immediately turn on or because the noise wakes them up after several hours of sleep. Sound machines are easy to find, and they can seriously help alleviate what could be the symptoms of insomnia in many adults.

Dealing with Sleepiness

Becoming sleepy during the day at inopportune times is pretty common. Sometimes, adults experience this problem because they simply aren’t scheduling enough time for sleep, and other times, they are actually waking up frequently at night, sometimes without even realizing it. What, then, is a person to do about the problem of getting sleepy during the day? Here are a few potential solutions.

The first thing to do is to make sure that you’re at least scheduling enough time for sleep. You should plan on getting between seven and nine hours of sleep at night. Get any less than seven, and you’re simply going to feel sleepy.

Another option is to purchase a sound machine for your bedroom. Sleep is a very complex state for the brain, and sometimes you can be drawn out of the deepest sleep by noises without even knowing it. The sound waves that are released by a sleep noise machine will mask noises that are present in your home or bedroom, helping you to stay in deeper sleep for longer.

You can also help this problem by taking very short naps during the day. It is, in fact, rather natural for people to lag a little bit in the afternoon. You can sometimes feel much better if you take just a fifteen to twenty minute nap, which doesn’t even have to involve going into deep sleep to be quite effective at helping you feel better for the rest of the day. A noise machine might also be helpful in this situation, since your home or office is likely to be loud in the middle of the day.

All of these solutions can be helpful, but if you can’t beat daytime sleepiness with more sleep, a white noise machine, and naps during the day, you might want to see your doctor to discuss whether you might have one of a number of different sleep disorders.

Sleeping with a Snoring Partner

Sometimes, the issues that occur in a relationship or marriage are things that are pretty much uncontrollable. She cries whenever he’s mad, which just makes him feel bad. He hates Chinese, which she loves. Or maybe one of them snores so loudly at night that the other is often woken up. The problem with a snoring partner is that normally it’s the partner who doesn’t snore who loses sleep over the noise, which can become incredibly frustrating. A person who is frustrated and lacking sleep is not fun to deal with.

So, what do you do about sleeping with someone who snores? Well, there are a few solutions. One of the best is to get a white noise machine for your bedroom. This type of machine will fill the room with white noise. Often, it won’t totally cover the worst of the snoring, but it will mask the way that your brain hears the sound, which means that you’re less likely to be awakened by it. White noise machines are commonly used for babies, but they can be incredibly helpful for couples who are struggling with the problem of snoring.

Another good solution might be to go to bed at different times. If the non-snoring partner is a heavy sleeper, then snoring might not be a problem after she’s already asleep. Trying to fall asleep by someone who is sawing logs, though, can be a frustrating and futile endeavor. So, the partner who doesn’t snore should hit the sack half an hour or more before the snorer so that she can fall asleep first and stay asleep through the noise.

These two techniques, the white noise machine and the different bedtimes, can help many couples deal with the problem of snoring. Of course, if the problem is severe or continues for a long time, it might be a good idea to check out the snoring partner for conditions like sleep apnea.

Sleepwellbaby recommends these popular sound machines:

• SM-980A White Noise Machine by Marpac
• Homedics - SoundSpa Portable Sound Machine
• S-550-05 Sound Conditioner by Sound Oasis

Self-Adjusting Sound Machines

Whether you’re three months old or thirty years old, getting and staying asleep at night can be tough. If you live in the city, you might get woken up by things like siren noises, loud neighbors, and backfiring cars. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, you still have to content with tractor noises during planting and harvest and animal noises in the middle of the night. Instead of suffering from noises like these, though, you can use a sound machine to mask the night’s annoying noises so that you can fall asleep and stay asleep.

Using some sort of sound machine to create white noise or even just turning on a box fan in the bedroom at night is an old way to drown out disruptive background noises and stay asleep. While these approaches can be somewhat effective, you can still hear particularly loud noises above the white noise. Your fan or quiet radio can drown out soft noises and far-away noises, but the sound of your neighbor’s dog barking at three in the morning will jump out beyond that noise, waking you up or at least making your sleep less deep and restful.

Luckily, new technology has created a great new sound machine that can automatically adjust to your surroundings. The Ecotones Duet by Adaptive Sound Technologies provides this new technology. This type of machine will play whatever type of white noise you find most soothing, whether it’s natural night noises, running water, or just a fan-like noise. Instead of just feeding you noise, though, this sound machine will read the noises coming in from the surrounding area. If the noise around you grows louder, the machine will increase in volume to mask the new noises.

Even though a white noise machine can become pretty loud to drown out unexpected background noises, it still won’t wake you up because it will be that same sound you’ve grown used to. If you’re having trouble staying asleep even with your traditional white noise maker, one of these machines might be your perfect solution.