One can always find a host of ideas on TikTok, ranging from kooky to ultra serious. Among the latest tips to build up some serious buzz come from a health professional and are intended to help you sleep better — which is important if you’re also wondering how to treat insomnia. You may have heard it before but this should help you better understand why it is important to reserve the bed for its primary function: a place of rest to help you fall asleep.
Sleep — its quantity, quality or lack thereof — has become a source of anxiety. While it may be common to feel tired in the evening in the midst of a binge-watching session on the sofa, once in bed, it is often impossible to fall asleep. A phenomenon amplified by the last couple of years’ rhythm of successive lockdowns and widespread remote working, which both undermine the main function of our cherished bedrooms, and even more so our beds.
Earlier this year, in the United Kingdom, a study showed that 36% of Britons had difficulty getting to sleep on at least a weekly basis and that almost half of the country experienced sleep problems at least once a month. This finding could be related to the phenomenon of “conditional” or “learned” arousal, as explained by Dr. Karan Raj on TikTok. This is a fairly simple psychological concept explaining that we have unconsciously taught our bodies that bed is a place to stay awake.
This phenomenon has greatly increased since the pandemic with lockdowns and increased time spent at home encouraging staying in bed for entire days, doing anything and everything. The doctor, who counts 4.9 million subscribers, explains that watching TV shows, scrolling on your phone, working or even eating in bed has allowed the body to associate the bed with a place of wakefulness.
How to treat insomnia, and tips on getting better sleep
To counter this phenomenon, it’s necessary to retrain your body to consider the bed simply as a place of rest. No more teleworking while lying down, no more snacks in front of Netflix or time spent on the social networks every night; instead do all these activities in the living room or the kitchen.
If you want to follow Dr. Karan Raj’s advice, here are some tips to help you sleep better: If you don’t feel tired 20 minutes after going to bed, get up, go to another room or do an activity outside of your bed. Once you are tired again, go back to bed. Getting into this habit should put an end to conditional wakefulness, according to Dr Raj.
@dr.karanrIs this you?♬ original sound – Dr Karan Raj
On social networks, his video is buzzing with nearly 500,000 views. However, some followers are a bit skeptical about his suggestion, which seems so easy, questioning why they always feel sleepy on the sofa when they also spend a lot of time there. But this health tip isn’t exactly new, as it has been recommended for years by various doctors and sleep specialists. To get a better night’s sleep, keep your bed for its original purpose.
This story was published via AFP Relaxnews
(Main image: Claudia Manas/ Unsplash; Featured image: Jamie Street/ Unsplash)
