Expert gives tips for falling asleep: Why you should only use the bed for two things

Melatonin tablets are in fashion. But Vorster warns: “If you take them at the wrong time, they can disrupt your internal clock.” In the evening, the body secretes melatonin on its own, which makes you tired. The exact duration varies from person to person, says the expert. “It’s genetic, and that’s why there are night owls and early risers.” Melatonin deficiency is almost never the cause of sleep problems. Vorster advises people who are not tired in the evenings to go to bed later and take a 30-minute walk during the day. “Natural light revitalizes the body, restores its rhythm and increases melatonin production in the evening.”

According to experts, you should always go to bed at the same time; give or take an hour. “This gives the body a fixed period of time during which it can adjust to rest and sleep.” A quiet evening ritual helps the body prepare for sleep. Since this process takes about 30 minutes, Vorster recommends just brushing your teeth, airing out the bedroom, and reading a few pages in the last half hour before bed. The expert says research shows routines make it easier to fall asleep.

Vorster says going to bed too early in the hopes of falling asleep before 11 p.m. is counterproductive. “The longer you lie in bed without sleeping, the more your body becomes accustomed to associating being in bed with being awake.” In most cases of insomnia, the body has forgotten to see the bed as a place of rest and sleep. Experts say that in order for the bed to regain its former function, three things must be taken into account: Lie down only when you are tired, spend no more than eight hours in bed, and use the bed only for sleep and sex.

“If ruminating at night is keeping you from falling asleep, a to-do list can help,” says Vorster. With this method, you sit at the dinner table an hour before bed and write down everything that needs to be done in the coming days. A 2018 study concluded that it was easier to fall asleep afterwards. The more detailed the study participants wrote down what they were going to do, the faster they fell asleep afterwards.