I can't fall asleep. What can I do?
Because quality sleep provides numerous health benefits to keep your body and mind working right, getting a good night's rest is very important. Studies show that most teens need about 9 hours of sleep a night.
But if you're like most teens, your life is incredibly busy. Maybe you're balancing classes, extracurricular activities, friends, a boyfriend or girlfriend, and a part-time job, too. It's a lot to handle, and it can leave you feeling stressed. Constantly running from one place to another and worrying about everything you have to do can cause tension to build up in your body. One of the ways this tension can come out is by keeping you from sleeping at night.
Another possible cause of insomnia is having to go through major changes in your life. Have you recently moved, changed schools or experienced a sad event like a divorce or death in the family? Just as your mind is having trouble adjusting to this shift, your body is too.
Here's are some simple solutions that can help you fall asleep.
- Make sure your bedroom is set up as a place that encourages you to sleep. Keep the temperature in your room comfortable and keep the room as dark as possible at night.
- Give yourself a little de-stressing ritual before bed to help you relax like counting backward from 100 with your eyes closed.
- Regular exercise can help you sleep better, but only if you make sure to do it well before bedtime.
- Stop drinking anything with caffeine (such as soda or coffee) before dinnertime. Even the amount of caffeine in a can of soda can keep you wide awake.
- Set up a pattern of getting to bed about the same time every night and waking up around the same time every morning. As hard as it may seem, stick close to that schedule on weekends, too.
- If you've been in bed for more than 30 minutes without falling asleep, try getting up and doing some quiet reading or writing to calm down your mind. Return to bed when you're sleepy.
Learn more about sleeping by visiting meritcare.com (keyword: sleep).
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