6 strange but effective shortcuts to get a better night’s sleep
<p>While digital detoxing and skipping your nightly caffeine can assist in drifting off, achieving uninterrupted and high-quality sleep can prove to be a challenge.</p>
<p>If proper sleep is evading you, try one of these six (slightly left-of-centre) techniques, for good quality zzz-ing every night.</p>
<p><strong>1. Brain dump</strong></p>
<p>Quieting a busy mind can be a nightly sleep hurdle for many. “Do a brain dump,” says Dr Simone Laubscher PhD. “It means you can sweep away any thoughts or unresolved issues that are consuming you.”</p>
<p>Make the habit of always having a notepad and pen by your bed, suggests Laubscher. “Open to a fresh page and draw a line down the middle, and at the top of one column write “things I can change’, and on the other ‘things I can’t change’. It is a very effective way of letting go of thoughts and problems, especially those out of our control, or impossible to resolve at 1am.”</p>
<p><strong>2. Lights out</strong></p>
<p>Light pollution, no matter how minimal, can make drifting off and staying asleep impossible. “I always install curtains rather than blinds in the bedroom,” says interior designer Nina Maya. “They are more effective because you can take them floor-to-ceiling so they extend the full height of the wall, and horizontally wall-to-wall. It is the best way to properly block out any light.”</p>
<p>Maya suggests two layers for effective block-out. “The top layer is always a beautiful light fabric, and, beneath it, a heavy-duty backing that acts as an effective block-out,” she says. “Not only does it completely blacken the room, it makes the space appear more airy, just like a beautifully cocooned hotel bedroom.”</p>
<p><strong>3. Body clock</strong></p>
<p>According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the body has a 24-hour clock that tracks the body’s energy flow, allowing each organ its own time to renew and rejuvenate. “If you wake regularly during the night, take note of the time,” says Laubscher. “Waking consistently at the same time every night can be a red flag telling you that certain body organs require attention.”</p>
<p>Waking between 1am–3am can be your liver waking you, between 3am-5am is usually your lungs, and between 5am–7am your large intestine. “The liver is associated with the emotions of anger, frustration and rage and the lungs are linked with grief and sadness,” she says. “Once nourished and taken proper care of, hopefully uniterrupted sleep will return.”</p>
<p><strong>4. Perfect placement</strong></p>
<p>Where your bed is placed in your bedroom can have a real impact on your ability to harness harmony and inner peace, says Mina Zheng, a Chinese Feng Shui master from Feng Shui Australia.</p>
<p>“Your bed should always be positioned far away or diagonally from the door,” she says. “Your feet should never point directly at it. This position in Feng Shui is known as ‘coffin position’. I don’t advise it!”</p>
<p>Ensure your bed backs onto a solid wall, not a window. “A wall offers better stability and keeps out the yang, like noise and light,” she says. “If your only choice is a window, seal it up with heavy plantation blinds or heavy curtains to create a solid backing for your bedhead.”</p>
<p><strong>5. Sunglasses at night</strong></p>
<p>Tinted sunglasses, says Laubscher, can be useful when preparing for a solid night’s sleep. “Studies have shown that different colours can have a significant impact on us psychologically, as well as physically with different colours possessing the ability to rejuvenate body organs,” she says. “Blue, for example, is often associated with peace and helps to induce sleep. For others, red, which sits at the other end of the blue spectrum, is effective. Unusual, I know, but wearing the right colour tinted sunglasses before heading to bed can have a calming effect for a restful night’s sleep.”</p>
<p><strong>6. Stretch and flex</strong></p>
<p>Personal trainer Ricardo Riskalla, from Rawfit, says that stretching before sleep is key to unwinding the body and achieving a better night’s sleep. “Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) is a key method to improving sleep,” he says. “When we hold a yoga pose for a period of time, our muscles move into a relaxed state via the Golgi tendon organs (the series of muscle fibres, located in the tendons that attach muscle to bone). It is a method that was developed in the 1940s to treat neurological dysfunctions. Simply choose any yoga pose, hold for at least five minutes without moving, focus carefully on your deep breathing, then sleep deeply.”</p>
<p>What are the shortcuts you use to fall asleep quickly? Share them in the comments below.</p>
<p><em>Written by Elizabeth Clarke. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.domain.com.au" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Domain.com.au.</span></strong></a></em></p>
