Please check in with us at the beginning of every month for new education topics and useful tips on CPAP/APAP/BPAP therapy. We would like to help you take full advantage of your therapy so that you can finally get the sleep that you have been craving for! Good sleep is very important for your health and as a result can highly improve your quality of life.
Here are 5 easy tips to get better sleep:
- Create a nighttime routine: Doing the same thing before bed will prepare your body for rest and condition your brain for sleep. Make sure to do activities that promote relaxation (e.g. reading, meditation, stretching or writing in a journal).
- Get out of bed when you can’t fall asleep: If you find yourself wide awake and stressing because you can’t fall asleep, get out of bed and do something that will promote relaxation (e.g. breathing exercises, reading an uninterested book/article or medication). Once you begin to feel drowsy, go back to bed.
- Reduce or eliminate irregular or long daytime naps: Short power naps may sometimes be necessary but sleeping during the daytime can confuse our internal clock and make it difficult to fall asleep at night. If you feel like you need to take a nap, keep it shorter than 30 minutes.
- Keep the room cool: Studies found that increased body and bedroom temperature can decrease sleep quality and increase wakefulness. 20 degrees Celsius seems to be a comfortable temperature for most people.
- Exercise regularly - NOT before bed: Exercise can help make you physically tired but if you exercise a few hours before bed it will do the opposite because it boosts your adrenaline levels.