Suffering from insomnia is among the hardest things you can ever experience. But you need not endure the pains of insomnia as there are many ways to help you get a good night sleep. Following these simple steps will make your insomnia problems disappear in no time.

1. Yes, it is very tempting to oversleep during Saturdays and Sundays, especially when you have been sleep deprived during the week. But you may want to avoid oversleeping if you are suffering from insomnia. Doing so will desynchronize your body, thus you will have hard time sleeping. If you want to cure your insomnia, you should make sure to get up the same time every day so that your body is trained to wake up at the same time consistently every day.

2. You should stay away from caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and other stimulants. There are some medications that contain these such as theophylline, a beta agonist inhaler, and decongestant especially before going to bed. Caffeine can make you stay awake for several hours, and there are times it lasts for 24 hours, so drinking caffeine beverages will affect your sleep. Caffeine drinking may also cause frequent awakening at night, thus you don’t get a good relaxing sleep. Alcohol has effects of sedatives that may cause restless sleep at night.

3. Napping is ideal to recharge during tiring days but if you have insomnia, better not nap during the day, or at least you can limit it. You should be aware of the importance of regular sleep pattern. A person must also train himself to connect sleep with cues like darkness and consistent bedtime.

4. A person who wants to get rid of insomnia must also have a regular exercise. This will improve the quality of sleep and its duration. But it should also be noted that immediately exercising before bedtime can have a stimulant effect on the body, thus should be avoided. A good exercise to help improve the quality of sleep is done at least three hours before going to bed.

5. Try also to limit your activities while in bed. You should set your bed as a place to sleep and making love, no more, no less. If you have insomnia, you should not do other things in bed aside from the above mentioned like making phone calls, studying and eating. Also, avoid watching television and listening to the radio even inside the bedroom as these activities tend to increase your alert level, making it difficult to fall asleep.

6. Eating and drinking right before bedtime is not advisable for people with insomnia. Excessive eating and drinking will also overwhelm the bladder and you will have to make frequent trips to the bathroom, thus disturbing your sleep.

7. Your sleeping environment should be as comfortable as possible. Make sure the temperature, noise and lighting are controlled.

8. Forget about all your worries before going to bed. Do not think about other things that might keep you from thinking the whole night, thus resulting to difficulty in sleeping. Find a time during the day to plan all those things and to think about tomorrow, but not when you are in bed already.

9. Learn some relaxation therapies to reduce stress. Relax your mind and body before you go to bed.

10. Participate in cognitive therapy as well. This will correct inappropriate thoughts and beliefs that may contribute to experiencing insomnia.