Why adults should practise sleep training

Sleep is the only one natural function that is designed to rejuvenate your brain, your muscles, your thought and as a whole, you as a living functioning organism. As we grow, we learn to do so many things, and take responsibility to solve so many problems, the one thing that we leave out in the process is finding time to recharge our bodies.

Sleep training is the process of giving time to yourself to fall asleep and remain asleep for a good number of hours. It is not about locking yourself in a dark room, lying in bed with open eyes counting down the hours until your alarm goes off.

Where to start?

Humans are creatures of habit. Having a good bedtime routine is the first and most sure method to start sleep training.

A bedtime routine is a set of activities you perform in the same order, every night, in the 30 to 60 minutes before you go to bed. Bedtime routines can vary, but often include calming activities like taking a warm bath, reading, journaling, or meditation. These routines establish habits that help our brains recognise when it’s time to sleep. By performing the same activities in the same order every night, your brain comes to see those activities as a precursor to sleep.

Some good bedtime routines for adults

Adults, in today’s world, are surrounded by so many things to do, that getting the distractions out of our way can be difficult. Here are some of the routines we, as adults can practise to create a better bedtime routine:

1. Decide on a bed-time and wake-up time; and then stick to them religiously every day. Schedule a time before your bed-time to begin your bedtime routine. Use alarms if you need to, and preferably use a simple alarm clock for this. Even if you have to use your mobile phone, leave them outside of your bedroom.
2. Leave your electronics outside the bedroom. Electronic devices today are designed to grab your attention; the very fact that it is reachable by your hand makes you want to “check out any messages that came in”. On top of that, all electronic device screens emit blue light, including computers, laptops, mobile phones, etc. This suppresses melatonin production in your brain and tricks it to think it is still daytime.
3. Stretch, breathe and relax. Deep breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation can allow you to let go of physical and mental tension. A light yoga session could also help relax your mind.
4. A warm bath, can cool down your core body temperature and help prepare you for a sleepy time. As part of your daily sleep-wake cycle, the human body naturally produces melatonin in the evening to prepare your body to sleep, one of the effects of which is reducing your core body temperature. Taking a nice warm bath before going to bed mimics this and prepares your body for a better night’s sleep.
5. Reading a good book is often a childhood routine that parents start off. Reading a book tires down your eyelids, cleans up runaway thoughts from the day at work; and since books do not emit any sort of lights unlike mobile phones, they are the best ways to read and absorb a soft genre of books (free from drama, suspense or action).
6. Listening to calm and soothing sounds, helps calm down the mind, relaxing your inner soul and lowering stress levels from the day. These sounds also drown away distractive sounds around you, and lets your mind fall into a sleepy state faster, and remain sleepy for longer.

At The Somnos Project, we are working on building products to help adults and babies relax and sleep better. We are still in the development phase, but if you would like to know more or gain early access to our products, do get in touch with us using the form below.