Being tired is the most common complaint doctors hear across the country. It is a paradox that with so many labor saving devices, methods of transportation and manners of communication that sleep aids are the most frequently prescribed medication in the world. Often tiredness comes to those who seem as though they are in the best of health or people who say that they sleep eight or 10 hours a night. There are ways to conquer that dragging feeling that being tired can produce.
Instructions
1. Try to formulate a routine that is sensible and reasonable for your lifestyle. Do not make outrageous plans. If early morning hours are hard for you, do not plan to get up at 5:30 each morning. Make going to bed and getting out of bed at the same time each day a priority.
2. Keep the temperature in your bedroom comfortable for you. If that means using the AC in the winter, use it. If you need an extra blanket in the summer use one. Do not allow the season to dictate the temperature of your sleep environment. If you can sleep comfortably with the windows open, it is preferable, but it is essential that you feel comfortable.
3. Stop eating and drinking six hours before going to bed. Make your big daily meal earlier in the day or even the afternoon. If you are most hungry at night, keep popcorn or light snacks such as fruit to start easing out of that behavior.
4. Use relaxation techniques such as a hot bath, listening to quiet music or reading before going to bed. Avoid any activity that involves stress at night and that includes watching TV shows about murder and mayhem. Use your DVR to record shows to watch at a different time.
5. Begin exercising earlier in the day. If you are sedentary, just do 10 minutes a day to begin. Walk around the block or use houses on your street as a gauge. Keep a journal and write your exercise routine. You will feel better, and the exercises early in the day will relieve the stress so that you can sleep more soundly and be less tired.
6. Eliminate caffeine as much as possible. If you are a coffee addict, start by limiting caffeine to the hours before noon. Make it decaf after that, but gradually replace the coffee or regular tea with herbal teas and decaf coffee. Remember that sodas and chocolate have caffeine.
7. Pay attention to your weight. If you are overweight, begin changing the way you eat to help you lose weight. Carrying around extra pounds is exhausting. If you are underweight you will not have the energy you need to do your daily tasks. Speak with a nutritionist about healthy ways of gaining or losing weight.
8. Use your bed for sleeping at night, and cut out naps. Do not read or watch TV in bed. Make your bed in the morning, and do not unmake it until bedtime. It is best to totally avoid the bedroom completely until bedtime.
9. Work with your doctor or other qualified health care provider who can keep an eye on your progress about this issue and make sure it is not a symptom of anything else.
