In this BIT: How to fall asleep when you’re not tired? If you’ve ever asked yourself “why can’t I fall asleep?” after a long, tiring day, you’re in the right place for sleep hacks.
It’s been a long day. School is done for the day, you’re home from your extracurricular, and you’ve finished your homework and chores. You’re exhausted. All day you’ve been constantly on the go. But now, as the time to finally lay down approaches, you get a sudden burst of energy! As your head hits the pillow you can’t even imagine going to sleep right now. Has this ever happened to you? We can relate. This happens to a lot of us. Read on to find out why this occurs, and what we can do to deal with this sudden burst of energy, to finally fall asleep.
Your body is actually supposed to have excess energy at night! According to Terry Cralle, RN, sleep educator and Saatva sleep consultant, “adults have two peaks of alertness during the day, one in the morning and again in early evening (WMZ)”. As humans, we’ve all got an internal biological clock that regulates how sleepy or energetic we feel throughout the day. This is called our circadian rhythm. According to Cralle, “Some researchers theorize that humans evolved this way so that they could be alert to the dangers posed by predators that came out at night”.
Now we know why we get a sudden burst of energy at night. But how can we overcome this when we know our body needs rest?
This might just be the tastiest sleep hack! Certain foods contain higher levels of melatonin, a sleepiness hormone that your brain produces when you’re exposed to darkness. Melatonin helps regulate your circadian rhythms. In the evening try relaxing while drinking warm milk, or snacking on a few walnuts, kiwi, or any food from this list.
Having a set sleep schedule regulates your circadian rhythm. This means your body will know when to get tired and when it’s time to get up. Also (bonus), getting up will actually be easier because your body will be better used to it. Always going to sleep at the same time and waking up can definitely sound daunting. However, don’t get stressed, these are not hard sleep rules and you can definitely stray from the exact time by a few hours. However, if you sleep in for five hours on the weekend, you may have a slightly harder time getting back to sleep that night and waking up the next morning. The good news is that we can always get back on track.
Try the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time, try to stick to your approximate bedtime, but 20% of the time (weekends, or for late night studies), enjoy more flexibility. Just try to stick to a routine as best you can.
If weather permits, open the window in your room. If it’s cool outside, maybe just a small crack. Fresh and cold air increases your oxygenation levels. Oxygenation levels are the amount of oxygen you have in your blood. According to neuroscientists from the University of Alberta, more oxygen encourages your brain to be in a deep sleep.
Check out our quick YouTube video for more sleep advice:
We hope that these sleep hacks help you the next time you get a sudden burst of energy at night, giving you a small bit of happiness.
For more happiness check out our Mood Boost page.
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How to fall asleep when you’re not tired? Check out these sleep hacks.
