“Your Dog Might Get Lonely,” I said.
“I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in more than three months,” she sighed desperately. “I am so tired, I don’t even feel human anymore. I have tried everything and nothing has helped. I would do anything to know how to sleep better at night,” she pleaded on the phone as we got to know each other.
When she came into my office, I started asking her about her sleep habits.
She said that she slept with the television on because the house was empty and it kept her company at night. “It makes the house feel less empty,” she said. “Besides, my dog likes the noise.”
She had no idea that she was sabotaging her sleep, creating part of the problem.
Since the invention of late night TV, people have used the TV to unwind after work. However, there is mounting evidence that the television probably does more harm than good when it comes to getting a good night’s rest.
Some researchers have talked about the quality of bluish light that most TVs produce, others have speculated that it is your set’s flickering light that causes the problem.
Whatever the reason, this is the bottom line: watching TV before bed keeps the body from producing melatonin, which is the body’s natural sleeping “drug.” So do most other devices with a screen.
While it might help to unwind earlier in the evening, I find that most of my clients will immediately begin to sleep better if they avoid using anything with a screen two hours before bedtime.
If you usually go to bed around 10 PM, turn off the TV and put away the iPad around 8PM.
Are you desperate for a good night sleep? Why not give it a trial for two weeks and notice what happens? For most, the results are immediate and encouraging.
Now there are other things to avoid before bed and there are things to start doing that work miracles for most people in just a couple of weeks, so look out for more information in upcoming articles.
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Hypnosis and NLP Master Practitioner William Wood helps people to learn how to get a better night’s sleep in his Ogden, Utah, office. He also helps clients nationwide via phone or Skype. If you want more information or would like to book a low cost consultation with William to learn to improve your sleep with hypnosis and NLP, you can contact his office 385-432-0729.
