11 Jun How To Get A Better Night’s Sleep
Getting a full night of rest can be a difficult feat, especially when you are living with sleep apnea. There are plenty of factors that can sabotage your sleep, making you toss, turn and waste hours of precious time. If you want to stop feeling sluggish and exhausted in the morning, here is how you can make it easier to get to sleep and stay that way until your alarm rings.
Get Comfortable
The first thing you should do is make sure that your CPAP machines and supplies are comfortable for your face and your sleeping position so that you have a solid night of rest. CPAP experts can help you find a mask that fits perfectly and lead you to accessories to improve the experience, like nasal pads and gel mask leak sealers. You can read the testimonials from past clients to see just how successful their customized purchases of masks and accessories were for their sleep schedules.
It’s also important that your bed is equipped with the right mattress, blankets and pillows for you to doze off. If you decide to buy a CPAP machine in Barrie or in other Ontario locations, you should think about getting contour pillows to make sure that you can sleep in your preferred position without your mask slipping off or pinching. The contour cloud memory foam support pillow is excellent for anyone who wants to sleep on their back, while the contour CPAPMax pillow is a great choice for side-sleepers.
Prepare Your Bedroom
Designate your bedroom as a zone for relaxation and sleep, so that you don’t associate the area with other activities like work, study or entertainment. Your home office should be relegated to a different room and you should avoid looking over emails, projects and presentations while sitting on your bed. One of the biggest ways that you sabotage your sleep every night is by having all of your technology plugged-in nearby — you have your smartphone charging right on your bedside table, a television propped against the wall and a laptop on the desk. The reason why you should keep electronics out of the bedroom is that the blue-light from their screens suppresses natural melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel drowsy. Taking items like smartphones, laptops, televisions and tablets out of the space will reduce the blue-light and noise. It will also stop you from being tempted by your technological devices so that you don’t watch another episode of your favourite show or play another game instead of going to sleep. You can make an exception for digital alarm clocks if the ticking of analog clocks annoys you, but remember to choose one that uses orange, amber or red lights — unlike blue lights, these won’t disrupt your relaxation.
Start A Bedtime Ritual
If you are having trouble going to bed at a reasonable hour without tossing, turning or waking up every ten minutes, consider establishing a new routine before bed. An hour or two before you plan to crawl under your sheets, try some activities to relax like gentle yoga, meditation, reading or practicing mental exercises like puzzles and word searches. The experience is entirely subjective, so tailor the preparations to suit your needs — what works for someone else, may not be the right fit for you. It’s only important that you stick to the routine every single day to make sure that the habits are fully-ingrained and that your body associates the pattern with sleep.
Start by making sure your bedtime essentials are completely comfortable, whether that is your CPAP sleep mask, your pillow or your pajamas. Then establish your room as a space that is solely for rest, so you don’t feel tempted to finish some extra work emails or watch another episode of television while sitting on your bed. Finally, develop your own bedtime ritual full of calming habits and you will drift off the moment that you close your eyes.