Trouble falling and staying asleep? All you need to know about a healthy sleep schedule

Quality sleep is crucial for optimal functioning of our physical and mental being. It is the restorative stage of our daily life cycle.  While asleep, there are a number of activities that take place internally. For example: the body’s metabolism is regulated, immune system gets a boost, brain processing activity is increased, and cognitive function is activated at a high pace. Experts have co-related sleep deprivation to a number of physical and emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression diabetes, obesity etc. If you have trouble sleeping or suffer from Insomnia, read on further to understand ways in which you can ensure a healthy sleep pattern that is critical to good health. 

Most adults need around eight hours of sleep daily. To understand why eight hours, it is imperative to first understand what are the different stages of sleep one goes through every night.  Sleep is divided into two categories – Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM). It is related to the movement of your eye under your eyelids. These two types of sleep together make up a single sleep cycle where your brain progresses through each stage – wake, light sleep, deep sleep, REM and repeat. The body restores itself in the first half of your sleep cycle, and the brain restores itself in the second half. This is why it is important to pass through each of the sleep stages in order to ensure both the body and brain are functioning at its peak.

During the current times, we often see most people reduce the number of sleep hours in order to get more work done. Also, with so many lifestyle changes in the past months, it has become difficult to follow a certain routine. This is why it is important now more than ever to re-instate the importance of good sleep. The ability to finally enjoy a good night’s sleep is something that can be learned as you continue to read through the below:

• It is important to stick to a daily sleep routine even on the weekend. Your body clock stays regulated and helps you fall asleep on time
• Stay away from rigorous activities before bedtime to avoid stress, anxiety and excitement
• Avoid day-time naps to ensure you have no trouble falling asleep at night
• Add a little exercise to your day. If you can do an extensive routine, try light exercises. Some exercise is better than no exercise. 
• Free your surroundings from any light, sound or sleep partner disruptions. If unavoidable, consider using eye shades, curtains and ear plugs
• Ensure comfortable bed accessories 
• If you have trouble falling asleep on your bed, do not roll on the bed waiting to sleep. Move around and come back when you are falling asleep
• Ensure light meals, lower caffeine consumption, avoid alcohol, smoking before bedtime

Neurofeedback and Sleep

Watch out for red flags. Do not let sleep problems hide under an underlying sleep disorder. Having tried the above, if you are still facing any challenges to sleep or memory problems contact your healthcare professional for a complete diagnosis. You may also consider neurofeedback that uses non-invasive brain-training to help improve your sleep. One effective way is the professional use of an EEG to monitor your brainwaves and receive feedback. The session entails mirroring your brain activity and rewarding it each time it does something right. Over time the brain muscles are trained to relax, calm down and sleep better. The sessions help with achieving great sleeping patterns resulting in waking up fresh and staying energetic throughout the day.

At Evolve Brain Training our experts help to maximize your brain’s ability and solve any obstacles that prevent your brain from performing to its optimum level, using the science of Neurofeedback. Contact us to know more about the neurofeedback treatment in Dubai or fill out a form and our team will get back to you with your appointment. 

Dr. Upasana Gala is the founder and CEO of Evolve Brain Training, a Neurofeedback-centered institute that focuses on using non-invasive brain training techniques to maximize the brain's true potential.