Sleep Support in Richmond, VA
Get Better Sleep
Poor sleep is awful. Problems falling asleep, waking in the middle of the night, and waking earlier than we want or need can be torturous. Poor sleep can make everything else just that much harder. Certain mental health problems can cause poor sleep, like the nightmares and jumpiness of trauma disorders or the early-morning waking of depression.
Our habits can also contribute to poor sleep, and many of us will sleep significantly better by changing a few small things.
The Art of Sleep Hygiene: Simple Habits for Restful Nights
Sleep hygiene, the recommended behavioral practices that set us up for a blissful night of sleep, is an art and requires intention. Here are a few tips from a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Mountain Psychiatry to get you going in the right direction:
Create a cool, dark, quiet sanctuary. Turning down the heat, using heavy curtains, and even a brown or white-noise app or machine can help snuff out little noises in the night and let you stay asleep longer.
Get cardiovascular exercise every day, ideally in the morning. Humans do best when we move our bodies. Exercise helps us sleep, reduces stress, and improves mood. We recommend 30 minutes every day (or 45 minutes every other day) of moderate cardiovascular activity like a hike, basketball, a bike ride, weight lifting, or a fast walk. All exercise is great - but for sleep, get a little sweaty and your heart rate up!
A bed is not a sofa. Keep your bed for just sleeping. Remove any television or screens from your bedroom. Watch television, work, text, and read in other areas to help your body associate only sleep with your comfy bed.
Sunlight to start the day. As popularized by Andrew Huberman, PhD, exposing ourselves to sunlight in the first-ish part of our day supports cortisol release, which directly benefits our circadian rhythm, sleep quality, energy, and focus.
Skip the nap. Some people can nap and get a satisfying amount of uninterrupted sleep at night. If you’re not one of them, hold out until evening and plan to go to bed early if needed.
Televisions, computers, and gadgets. Electronics with backlit screens emit a type of light that mimics daylight. This type of light stops our brain from releasing the chemical melatonin, the hormone that promotes health and a regular sleep cycle. I recommend turning off the TV and putting down your phone one hour before you would like to be asleep.
Gotta go? If you wake in the night to use the restroom, push hydration (ideally water) in the day and limit drinking beverages in the evening.
Caffeine. Caffeine has a half-life of 6-8 hours. That means that half of the 154 mg of caffeine in your 3 pm latte will be coursing through your system at 9 pm. Some folks can pull this off, but if you’re having a hard time sleeping, especially falling asleep, I recommend a cut-off time of 12 PM - noon- or before. Remember that dark chocolate, pre-workout blends, Yerba Mate, and decaf teas and coffees all have caffeine.
Be consistent. Set a pattern of going to sleep at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning.
Unwind before bedtime. An hour before you would like to be asleep, do a relaxing activity like reading, meditating, journaling, or taking a bath.
Medications. Ask about the recommended time to take prescription medications, as some can help you sleep or may keep you awake. Over-the-counter sleep aids like melatonin, 0.5-3 mg at bedtime, or Benadryl, 25 mg one to two tablets at bedtime, are low risk and may be helpful. We recommend that you start with melatonin, as the side effects from Benadryl include dry mouth, constipation, and feeling groggy the next day. Keep in mind that melatonin is not a sedative and that doses above 3 mg are not more likely to help you sleep.
Healthy Habits for Restful Nights with Sleep Support in Richmond, VA
Struggling with poor sleep can leave you feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and stuck in a frustrating cycle. If you’re ready to reclaim your rest, explore personalized sleep support in Richmond, VA designed to help you restore balance and energy. At Mountain Psychiatry, our team is here to guide you with proven strategies so you can finally experience the deep, restorative sleep you deserve. Follow these three simple steps to get started:
Schedule a phone consultation to see if trauma psychiatric treatment is right for you.
Begin meeting with compassionate psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner Lis.
Start sleeping better!
Additional Services Offered at Mountain Psychiatry
Sleep challenges are a common struggle, and Mountain Psychiatry offers personalized care to help you find lasting rest. In addition, our clinicians provide support for trauma and PTSD, depression that has not improved with traditional treatment, guidance for gender diversity, ADHD support, assistance with substance use and benzodiazepine dependence, and more. While our office is based in Richmond, Virginia, clients across Virginia, Colorado, and California can access expert, compassionate care through secure telehealth services.
Resources:
The National Sleep Foundation has a lot of good information, including a sleep journal that we can use to help better understand what is getting in the way of blissful sleep.
Shawn Stevenson’s Sleep Smart book.
The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department created the CBT-I Coach app, which is a simple and evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy for sleep (CBT-I)