Log in
You get into bed, but your eyes are wide open, thinking, "Tomorrow is my first presentation...!" Have you ever found yourself unable to sleep because you're too restless?
It's not uncommon to feel anxious and unable to sleep on such an important night, only to wake up exhausted the next morning.
This time, let's consider what to do when tension or excitement keeps you from sleeping at night.
How to deal with sleeplessness due to anxiety
Option to not sleep at all
It's probably not every night that you feel "too nervous to sleep" or "too worried about tomorrow to sleep."
While it's concerning if you can't sleep every night, if it's only occasionally, like when you were a child and couldn't sleep from excitement the night before a field trip, it's better to resolutely decide not to sleep and get out of bed.
You might think, "Really? Is that okay?" but surprisingly, it often works. This is because the feeling of "not being able to sleep" often intensifies the more you try to sleep, which can be counterproductive.
In that case, break that negative cycle by getting up.
If you're worried about tomorrow's presentation, you could start preparing for it, or you could watch a movie or read a book.
It is said that if you boldly think, "It's okay not to sleep for about a day!" your tension will ease, and your body will switch from the sympathetic nervous system to the relaxing parasympathetic nervous system, and you might find yourself feeling sleepy before you know it.
However, even if you decide to "get up!", it's important to leave your alarm set. If you happen to fall asleep without realizing it, and you've turned off your alarm, things could go horribly wrong, so please be careful about this.
Try planning a day of physical activity
If you've been thinking "I'm going to be nervous because I have a presentation on Monday," it's a good idea to plan your day from the morning so you can sleep at night.
For example, plan a solid workout in the morning, such as going to the gym, running, or trekking. Exercise a little longer than usual to tire your body out. Light exercises like walking may not make you feel very tired, so try to increase both the quantity and quality of your workout.
After that, make sure to get plenty of nutrients like milk and protein. Also, even if you're tired, try not to nap. Then, finish dinner before 8 PM and take a bath. If you bathe about 90 minutes before bedtime, your body temperature, which rose during the bath, will drop by the time you go to bed, making it easier to fall asleep. Before and after your bath, loosen up your body with yoga or stretching.
If you didn't have time to exercise in the morning, add a little bit of activity that temporarily puts you in an awake mode, like light strength training or singing loudly, before yoga or stretching. Gradually cool down with yoga and stretching after becoming awake.
Doing this will gradually prepare your body for sleep throughout the day, as you feel fatigued from both wakefulness and relaxation. During relaxation, it's best to turn off your smartphone, TV, and PC, and use indirect lighting.
Some people take long baths or hot baths right before bed, but it's said that this is not good because it can actually stimulate the brain and make it harder to fall asleep while your body temperature is still elevated after bathing.
It's ideal to finish any activities that stimulate your brain or activate your sympathetic nervous system about an hour and a half before bedtime.
Before bed, try something monotonous and uninteresting
Some people read books in bed before going to sleep. This is often effective, but be careful because if the genre is interesting, it could excite your brain.
Ideally, it should be something you're not interested in, something trivial. Something with tiny print that you don't even feel like reading would also be good. However, some studies suggest that the light from smartphones can stimulate the brain, so using your smartphone in bed is not recommended.
How was it? While adjusting your rhythm of life in a new environment is paramount, it's worth remembering these simple sleep methods to escape the anxiety of "can't sleep." Please give them a try.
Some people who suffer from insomnia are unable to switch off the excitement or tension from work even after returning home, leading to excessive tension and arousal at bedtime. It's important to make an effort to switch between "on" and "off" modes regularly, but if you're experiencing anxiety due to sleeplessness, it might be good to take the attitude that "you won't die even if you don't sleep for a day or two." Some people fall into a vicious cycle where the anxiety of not being able to sleep actually makes it harder to sleep. Eventually, everyone gets sleepy.
