I am Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.

Feeling tired? How many times during the day do you feel tired? Now think about how you got that way. If you’re tired after physical exertion, that’s normal. Working your brain can be tiring as well. Stress can wear you down until you feel exhausted both physically and mentally. Some medications have exhaustion as a side effect. Chronic fatigue is an under-diagnosed condition that millions suffer from around the world. There are lots of reasons why you might feel tired during the day. Much of the time poor sleep habits are the culprit. The Philips Global sleep survey of 2019 tells us at least 67% of adults report sleep disturbances at night. Data from that study also tells us that 62% of adults from across the globe don’t sleep as restfully as they would like. Can you identify if you want to stop feeling tired during the day and get better sleep?

Here are five tips that can help you sleep better at night:

1. Exercise in the morning. Physical activity throughout the day can help you sleep at night. You probably know this. You run down your body physically and it needs time to rest and repair. That’s what your body does when it shuts down for sleep. Well, you may not notice that moderate to intense physical activity in the early morning can help you fall asleep and stay asleep in the evening. This might be counterintuitive. Exercising wears you out, so you might think it’s smarter to be physically active right before bedtime. This isn’t the case. There are several studies which show that exercising in the morning is better for getting restful sleep at night than if you enjoy physical activity at any other time of the day.

2. Avoid caffeine later in the day. Caffeine reaches its most potent level about an hour after you consume it. This gives you the familiar energy spike you get from a cup of coffee. What some people don’t realize is that up to 50% of caffeine is still in your body a full six hours later. It can take as many as 10 hours for your body to completely flush caffeine out of your system. Apply this knowledge to your sleeping schedule. Count backwards from bedtime. Try not to consume any significant amount of caffeine for ten or more hours before you go to sleep.

3. Develop a sleep schedule. If you can, sleep when it’s dark outside. That’s the preferred schedule. This is because of your circadian rhythm. That sleeping waking schedule was preprogrammed into your earliest ancestors and makes you more likely to stay awake during the day and sleep at night. Whatever schedule you develop for your sleeping and waking hours, stick to it. You can program your brain to anticipate sleep when you go to bed at the same time every night. Wake up at the same time the next morning as well. Sticking to a predictable and consistent sleep schedule has been proven to help people sleep more restfully.

4. Bathe in bright lights during the day. Here we go with the circadian rhythm again. Human beings used to spend much of their existence outdoors. The sun would bathe them in light all day long, and humans were naturally inclined to stay awake. When night fell and darkness beckoned, sleepy time ensued. You can use this natural sleep triggering mechanism to your advantage. Enjoy more exposure to bright lights during the day and much less at night. This can help you get the much-needed sleep you deserve if you often feel tired during the day.

5. Ditch the technology at night. If you accuse us of repetition here, we are guilty as charged. Exposure to electronic displays and the blue light they emit, could be what’s causing you to feel tired. It interrupts sleeping patterns. Some people even check their phone throughout the night, and this is doing nothing but harm to overall health and well-being. It’s also robbing you from energy during the day. So, kick as many consumer electronics devices out of your bedroom as you can for better sleep and more all-day energy.

Follow these simple tips to increase your overall sleep patterns and get a restful night of sleep each night.

Getting adequate sleep is a very important part of self-care. Check out our blog post here to read about the consequences of neglecting your self-care.

I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/contractnegotiations to pick up the free guide to help you negotiate the contract of your dreams.

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