Are there any tips to help people deal with insomnia at home?

Are there any tips to help people deal with insomnia at home?

Irshaad Ebrahim (Medical Director of The London Sleep Centre) gives expert video advice on: What is insomnia?; What happens to people who suffer insomnia, over time?; How many people suffer from insomnia? and more...

There are several tips called ‘good sleep hygiene' that are important to follow if one has a problem of insomnia. The first instant having a regular sleep time and a regular get-out-of-bed time is very important. Once you are consistent with the sleep time and the get-out-of-bed time, not only during the weekdays but on weekends too. Living a healthy lifestyle, not smoking, not drinking excess of alcohol, particularly not drinking alcohol prior to bed time, exercising regularly, exercising at the right time, it's not healthy to exercise after 6pm in the evening, it's healthier to exercise during the day, exercising in the evening can lead to excess of stimulation, and therefore hyper arouse the individual and result in the irrelevant system being overdrive and hence difficulty in falling asleep. Caffeine is important in the sense that it should not be consumed after 2pm in the afternoon and one should restrict one caffeine intake to a maximum of 2 to 3 cups of coffee in the earlier part of the day. The environment is important. Having a comfortable bed with not too soft or not too firm mattress, a well ventilated room between 21 to 24 degrees centigrade and also having adequate nutritional and food intake prior to bed. We have a list of other sleep tips on our website www.londonsleepcentre.com