A good night’s sleep is vital to our happiness and health. So when you’re not getting the sleep you deserve it can make you grumpy at best and unwell at worst. Sometimes you can’t sleep because of a sleep disorder or problem you have yourself. But often it is outside influences that prevent you from sleeping. Things like noisy neighbours, children waking you and a snoring partner stop you from sleeping well. Although it can be harder to deal with problems that aren’t directly your own, there are ways that you can try to make your life easier.
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Noisy Neighbours
Having noisy neighbours creates an extremely difficult situation to deal with. Should you approach them directly and ask them to keep the noise down? Or should you take the passive-aggressive approach and leave a note or bang on the wall? You convince yourself that if they were considerate enough to keep the noise down when asked, they would do it regardless. You could just buy some earplugs and try to block it out, but it seems unfair that you should adjust your way of living to fit around their noise. Often, simply going around to your neighbour’s house or apartment will do the trick. It is easier than you might think to be unaware of how the volume of your noise affects others. A simple request to please keep it down, or a compromise to make noise during certain hours, can work wonders.
Snoring Partner
If your partner snores, it can go so far as to ruin your relationship. Many couples end up sleeping in different rooms to get away from each other’s snoring. When you’re being kept awake by snoring, you can begin to resent your partner. You may even stop wanting to spend time with them when you’re both awake, because all you can think of is how they keep you from sleeping. In order to stop your relationship from going sour, you should look for a solution to their snoring. Sometimes this can be as simple as sleeping on their side or front instead of their back. Losing weight and cutting down on alcohol before bed can also improve snoring. Other people might benefit from an anti snore mouthpiece or similar device to stop them snoring. Snoring also relates to sleep apnea, so your partner should see a doctor too.
Waking Children
If your children refuse to go to bed or wake up a lot during the night, there could be several factors contributing to it. First, if they don’t already have a solid bedtime routine you should implement one immediately. Secondly, address any anxieties they might have about bedtime, from monsters under the bed to fear of wetting the bed. Having your child in bed with you can be very damaging to your sleep, so make sure they always sleep in their own bed. Make their room a place of peace and tranquility, free from too much stimulation. When they wake in the night, take them straight back to their bed.
Colin
Tuesday 4th of October 2016
Snoring is a big joke to some people but it's a serious health problem. Not enough sleep consistently can cause problems apart from tiredness and can seriously affect your relationship