Sleep is important for a healthy body, but a good night’s sleep is not possible for 1 in 4 people in care, according to our Monitor Healthy working in care. What’s the problem? For example, care employees suffer from restless sleep, waking up too early or having difficulty falling asleep. With two of these three complaints, a doctor already speaks of a clinical sleep problem. Fortunately, there are also solutions to try yourself.

Restless or disturbed sleep

Falling asleep is not the problem, but sleeping peacefully and deeply is. Do you recognize this? The quality of your sleep is important for your health. Check out whether the tips below contribute to a peaceful night.

• Move enough. By staying active during the day, you will become physically tired in the evening. This allows you to sleep more deeply at night.
• Avoid alcohol. Drinking alcohol disrupts the production of melatonin. And let this sleep hormone ensure a deep sleep.
• Sleep at set times. Your body remembers your rhythm and therefore produces the right substances in time that ensure a deep sleep.
• Put your smartphone aside from 9 p.m. The blue light from your phone reduces the production of melatonin (the hormone that helps you sleep more deeply).
• Relax sufficiently your way. This lowers the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn ensures better and deeper sleep.

Suffering from waking up too early

It’s 4:30 a.m. and you’re awake again. You can’t really sleep anymore, while you don’t have to get up for a few hours. This sleep deprivation will leave you feeling tired for the rest of the day. And this can go on for days at a time. Cause? This is often caused by stress and anxiety about what “must” be done the next day. Try to reassure your brain with the tips below and to “set it up” differently.

• In the evening, tell your brain that it doesn’t have to be active again until 7 a.m. the next day.
• Start with mindfulness exercises. This way you learn to be more “at the moment” and not to be busy with the next day before going to bed.
• Do not look at the clock at night, even if the temptation is great. It’s just bedtime now.
• Give yourself at least four weeks to convince your brain that sleep time can really be sleep time.
• Make your bedroom as dark as possible. This prevents the first daylight from entering the room.

Suffering from difficulty falling asleep

After a long day you are finally in bed, but you still can’t get to sleep. How is that possible? And more importantly, how do you fall asleep better? The trick is to slowly but surely prepare your body for sleep during the evening. The following tips will help you with this.

• During the evening, gradually reduce the day by dimming the light and turning down the sound. Start this about two hours before going to bed.
• Stop drinking at least an hour in advance. This prevents you from having to go to the washroom at the beginning of your night’s sleep.
• Get your clothes ready for the next day. This preparation gives a sense of calm before going to sleep.
• Read a book in bed for 15 minutes. The effort of reading will make you tired.
• Focus your attention on your breathing. If you pay attention to your breathing, you will gradually relax.

Your bed could be a solution

Have you thought of changing your mattress? For many of us, least do we know that our bed actually contributes a lot in the way we sleep. Your bed could be too soft or too hard. For beds that could provide a better sleep, check out top 10 review by bedroom solutions.

Through the years, your mattress could have become softer and softer, therefore providing less support than it was supposed to be. This can cause body aches and pains because your bed directly affects your spine alignment. To fix this, you can buy a purchase mattress toppers to provide some firmness to an already soggy bed. If nothing seems to work, you may consider buying a new bed.