Tension and pain

If you have tense muscles, it can be difficult to sleep. Physiotherapy and massage can loosen the muscles.

Is the tension caused by stress, better balance in live will help. Be aware that in one of the phases of burn-out, ”chronic stress”, problems to relax due to chronic stress and tension is the main symptom.

Calm down

Relax before bedtime. Calm down with an evening ritual that tells the body that it is soon suppose to sleep. If you have problems sleeping, you ought to begin calming down several hours before you go to bed. Do relaxing and calming activities during these hours, and avoid activities that are stressful.

For some people this is not sufficient, and they have to carry out concrete actions to calm down body and mind. Yoga, meditation and autogenic training can help. You can do these both during the day or/and as a part of the evening routine. 

Exercise

Several people exercise too little. This can easily lead to accumulation of energy in the body. It is important both to exercise and to get the right balance between rest and exercise, activity and inactivity. Exercise preferable every day, but avoid strong physical activities the last three hours before you go to bed.

Circadian rhythm

Get up at the same time every morning – this helps the body establish a fixed circadian rhythm. In the long run, a stable circadian rhythm will improve your sleep. If you have problems sleeping, do not sleep in during the weekend – this will disturb your routine.

Sleep

If you can not sleep; get out of bed and do something else for a while. Get enough sleep to feel refreshed, but not any more.

The bedroom

See to that the bedroom is cold, dark and quite. If necessary; use ear plugs and mask for the eyes or curtains that let in little light.

Invest in a good mattress and a bed that is large enough for you. If you share mattress with a partner and is being disturbed by the person turns in bed, it can be smart to get two separate mattresses. In this way the motion will not breed in the bed.

The pillow ought to give the neck good support, so it does not get stiff.

Daylight

Do you have problems to fall to sleep? Try to get some daylight at least for half an hour no later than 30 minutes after your last woke up. At too early awakening, try to avoid strong daylight before 12 am.

After-dinner nap

Do not take an after-dinner nap. Most people experience they get bigger problems to fall to sleep in the evening, if they sleep more than 15 minutes during the day. But there are different opinions about this. A short nap can make you feel more fresh and get more done in the evening.