Disrupted sleep is a common side effect of depression. It can cause us to sleep too much or too little. Sometimes it can mean that we wake up during the night.
Here are some tips you can try to help improve your sleep pattern. However, if poor sleep is significantly affecting your life, it’s something you should speak to your GP about.
Avoid those naps
When we’re tired it can seem like a good idea to have a quick nap to try and get us through the rest of the day. As tempting it is, if we’re struggling with our sleep patterns napping isn’t always that helpful.
Naps can confuse our sleep schedules, stopping our bodies from developing normal sleep and wake times. If we have a slump during the day it’s fine to sit down and chill for a bit – but if we can avoid sleeping until bedtime, we may sleep better at night.
Bedtime routine
Having a relaxing bedtime routine and keeping it the same every night can help your body to know that it’s bedtime. Set your sleep time and waking time the same every day.
Try including things like having a warm bath or reading a book. Doing your ‘get ready for bed’ tasks in the same order every night can also help your body to know when it’s time for bed.
Cut out the Caffeine
Cutting out caffeine, especially close to bedtime, can help you sleep. Caffeine is a stimulant so it can stop you from sleeping.
Most people know that tea and coffee contain caffeine but it’s not such common knowledge that caffeine can be found in things like cola – or even chocolate.
It’s worth keeping an eye on what you’re consuming to make sure caffeine isn’t sneaking in unexpectedly.
Exercise!
Exercising during the day can help you to sleep better at night. It can improve both sleep quality and sleep duration. However, exercising too close to bedtime can make it harder to sleep because it can over-stimulate the body.
So it’s better to exercise early in the morning, or in the afternoon, rather than right before bed.
Fear of going to bed
It’s possible to develop a fear of going to bed. Being left alone with our thoughts can be distressing, so we begin to procrastinate going to bed. The more we avoid it, the scarier it can feel until we build up a genuine fear of bedtime.
Discuss your fears with someone – a counsellor, a medical professional, or a trusted friend. It can be useful, as they may help you work out what’s causing your anxiety, and what you might do to reduce it.
Bedrooms have a purpose
Beds are comfy places and it’s tempting to use them whilst doing things other than sleeping, like bringing your laptop to bed and sitting under your duvet answering emails. Your bedroom should really be used for sleeping and sex. If possible, make it your sanctuary.
Avoid electronic gadgets in the bedroom as most devices emit EMF signals which can also affect your ability to sleep. We all have phones, so put your phone on the dresser away from the bed. Set your alarm and go to bed.
Time your medication
Some medications can cause drowsiness, some can stop you from sleeping.
Working out how your medication affects you can help you to use the side effects in your favour. If your medication is making you drowsy, taking it at night can help you to sleep. If it stops you sleeping, it’s better to take it in the morning if possible.
Make time to rest
Even if we can’t sleep, it’s important that we try and rest. Our bodies get tired of powering us through life and need a break. It’s tempting to get on with our jobs late at night if we know we’re likely to have trouble sleeping. If we do that every night we’re likely to completely burn ourselves out.
If you can’t sleep, you could try sitting or lying in bed relaxing. If doing nothing feels stressful, you could do something low energy, like reading, journaling or doing a chilled-out hobby like knitting.
Try some tea
Having tea with chamomile can help to get you off to sleep. If you’re not a tea-drinker, you could try a warm, milky drink such as hot chocolate.
Keep a diary by your bed
Sometimes, we can’t sleep because our minds are too busy. There are too many things to remember, our ‘to do list’ is too long, or we’re over thinking every social interaction we’ve had that day.
Pull out a pen and paper or make a note on your phone and get it all out of your mind. It can stop the thoughts from going round and round and help you to sleep.