How to improve insomnia?

  A. Full excitement during the day 1. Sleep on time and get up on time: weekends and Sundays are no exception, even if you did not sleep well the night before, you have to brace yourself to get up the next morning and not compensate for sleep during the day, it will be sad at first, but after a few weeks the sleep-wake rhythm normalizes and sleep quality improves.  2, no nap during the day: young people nap time limit within 30 minutes, the elderly nap limit within 1 hour, although the daytime nap to improve short-term fatigue, but destroy the sleep-wake rhythm, prone to long-term night insomnia. On the contrary, no daytime naps can ensure the quality of sleep at night.  3, sufficient sunlight: daily exposure to sunlight is not enough, often leading to insomnia. Therefore, outdoor activities should be more, daily outdoor exposure to sunlight for at least 30 minutes, if you can not do, exposure to artificial bright light for 30 minutes is okay.  4.Sleep restriction therapy: Many insomniacs remain in bed during waking, hoping to “sleep” again, but waking up in bed can only worsen insomnia. Sleep restriction therapy is to limit the time spent in bed to sleep time. This is done by recording the patient’s sleep time for 7 consecutive nights and dividing it by 7 to calculate the average daily sleep time. If the average sleep time is 6 hours, then the bedrest time is limited to 6 hours per night for the following week. If the following week the sleep time reaches more than 85% of 6 hours, then the bedrest time is added for 15 minutes (i.e., 6.25 hours) for the following week; if the following week the sleep time is less than 85% of 6 hours, then the bedrest time is reduced by 15 minutes (i.e., 5.75 hours) for the following week. During the first 1-2 weeks of this treatment, patients may think about sleeping during the day, but most patients report that their nighttime sleep deepens and they rarely wake up in the middle of the night.  2. Avoid material stimulation at night 1. Do not eat a lot of food within 2 hours before bedtime: eating a small amount of fast food (such as milk or bread) before bedtime may be beneficial for sleep, but do not eat a lot of food because increasing the gastrointestinal burden can increase the risk of heartburn at night and affect sleep; do not drink a lot of water so as not to interfere with sleep by urinating a lot at night.  2, do not smoke within 2 hours before bedtime: nicotine excites the central nervous system, smoking at night tends to increase heart rate, blood pressure and brain activity, which is not conducive to sleep, the half-life of nicotine is 1-2 hours, so do not smoke 2 hours before bedtime.  3, 3 hours before bedtime do not drink: 2-3 hours before bedtime drink 1-2 puffs of wine to promote sleep, but increase the frequency of night waking・, relaxation of the pharyngeal muscles, causing snoring and sleep apnea episodes, alcohol effect lasts 3-4 hours to disappear, so 3 hours before bedtime do not drink.  4, afternoon without caffeine: caffeine includes caffeinated coffee, tea and carbonated beverages, chocolate, cocoa powder, certain weight control aids, painkillers, diuretics, cold and flu medications and allergy medications also contain caffeine-like substances. Each person reacts differently to caffeine. Those who can only sleep in a quiet environment are prone to insomnia with caffeine, those who can only sleep in a noisy environment can use caffeine to help them sleep, and those who are highly sensitive to caffeine should avoid using substances containing caffeine.  Third, the evening to avoid mental and physical excitement 1, relaxation before bed: before going to bed to participate in pleasant, relaxing activities, so that the mental and physical relaxation, avoid work, research, phone calls, arguments, reading excitatory television programs or books.  2, can’t sleep don’t look at the clock: in the bedroom only two kinds of exercise: sleep and sexual activity, other activities (such as reading, watching TV) only outside the bedroom, insomniacs often bed worries, look at the clock and force themselves to sleep, these can only aggravate the mental arousal and somatic tension, worsening insomnia. The clock should be placed in a place where the patient can not see, wake up as soon as the alarm goes off 3, do not exercise within two hours before bed: 10-12 pm body temperature drops, which helps to sleep difficulties and maintain sleep, if you do high-intensity exercise within 2 hours before bed, the body temperature tends to rise, activating the central nervous system, which is not conducive to sleep, on the contrary, 4-6 pm is the peak of body temperature, high-intensity exercise can promote the body temperature drop thereafter, which helps to fall asleep .  4, avoid environmental stimuli: to evaluate the disruption of sleep glare, noise, tactile discomfort, too cold or too hot, and find ways to reduce or eliminate these discomforts, such as using eye masks, ear plugs, reduce the background volume, use a new mattress or pillow, room temperature control at 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit, can improve sleep.  Fourth, conditioned reflex therapy 1, can not sleep and leave the bedroom: because of troubles and 10 minutes to sleep (more than 60 years old 20 minutes to sleep), leave the bedroom, go to another room to watch TV or read a book, until you want to sleep and then return to the bedroom to sleep, such as 10 minutes later still can not sleep, again leave the bedroom, a night can be repeated several times. Bootzin proved that this can improve 70% of patients with difficulty falling asleep, 5-15 days to shorten the time to fall asleep.  2, bedroom and relaxation association: mental calm and bedtime, bed, bedroom and bedtime before the ritual action (such as brushing teeth and dialing the alarm clock) linked to strengthen these links, sleep is good; weaken these links, sleep is poor. When lying in bed, practice muscle relaxation, mental imagery relaxation and deep breathing, and practice muscle relaxation in the afternoon twice a day for 10 days or more before practicing muscle relaxation before bedtime.