In order for the brain healing process to be successful, more sleep and napping during the day is important. In the early parts of recovery, this should not be interrupted.
We will now look at a few tips that will help you to get much better sleep at night.
- Routine
Always strive to go to bed and wake up at the same times on a daily basis. This would make your internal clock become more regulated.
So, if you work full time in the week, you may want to get some extra sleep during the weekend. This is not advisable since it can interrupt your sleep rhythm.
- Environment in your bedroom
The mind strongly connects sleep with the bedroom. As a result of this, it is essential that you make your bedroom as relaxing as possible. It should be dark, quiet and there shouldn’t be any electronics or phones.
The bedroom should be cool and the temperature should be comfortable between 18 and 22C.
In order to block out light, black out blinds or even black out curtains can be used. If there is a noise problem, consider getting earplugs.
Your bed should be comfortable, find out how egg crate toppers feel and see if they are right for you.
- Turn off the tech
The majority of electronic devices give off blue light. These include televisions, computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones etc.
So, sleep experts highly recommend taking off these devices a minimum of 2 hours before you go to bed.
This is because the blue light makes your brain believe that it is still the day and this will lower your sleep quality.
- Avoid eating or drinking caffeine late in the day
There are many benefits of caffeine such as it is great for increasing energy and focus. However, if you eat or drink food that contains caffeine late in the day, this can interrupt your sleep quality at night.
There was a study done that showed that the persons who had caffeine as many as 6 hours before their bedtime, experienced poor sleep.
As a result, you should avoid drinking things that contain lots of caffeine after lunch such as tea, coffee, caffeinated soft drinks and more.
If you do want to drink these things after lunch, you should opt for the decaffeinated types. You can also use fruit or herbal drinks. However, make sure and discuss this with your doctor to ensure they won’t interact with any medications you may be using.
Also, when you drink a lot of liquids in the evening or night, this will increase how many times you need to use the bathroom. This will disturb your sleep. So, avoid drinking too many liquids about 2 hours before you settle at night.
- Limit napping
You may be tempted to have a nap in the day, especially if you have a brain injury and suffer from fatigue due to it.
With that said, if you have issues sleeping in the night, then these long naps in the day would be affecting your sleep quality. This is because they are negatively impacting your internal clock.
So, you should keep in mind that napping affects everyone differently. Some persons who survive brain injury may have to take more naps than other people.
If you’re worried about your napping habits and its effect on your sleep, be sure to talk to your doctor.
