ZZZ...

When do you sleep? How do you sleep? Do you have a good sleep?

Some people suffer the difficulties to sleep, commonly known as insomnia. Usually, those people need more than 30 minutes to fall asleep and they frequently get awake. As all of us know, sleep is really important in our lives. Besides retrieving back the energy for the next day, it can also increase the productivity and focus. Just imagine when you do not sleep that night, the next day will be terrible and you cannot even think critically.

Credit: http://healthprofessionalsnyc.com/medical/foresthills/forest-hills/pediatric-medical-care/

So, how can we avoid from insomnia?

1. AVOID HEAVY EXERCISES BEFORE SLEEP
   In colleges, I could see that most students usually play badminton or soccer or anything at night. This also occurs in the real life too, where we usually spend our time watching soccer game at approximately 8 o'clock. However, do you know that it is BAD for our health? Most medical specialists prohibit people to do heavy exercises about 4 to 6 hours before sleeping. Instead, it is encouraged to do it in the evening or morning because it can ease us to sleep at night.
   
   
2. TAKE A BATH
   According to a research by Michigan State University, taking a warm bath 2 hours before going to bed can help us to sleep, especially for those who suffer depression related disturbances. I think it is basically because our body will be much cooler and fresher, which comfort us before sleeping. Besides taking a bath, we can also practice a simpler alternative: taking wudhu' (ablution). It is much faster and most importantly, it is SUNNAH!
   
   “Rasulullah s.a.w. said: When you are going to the bed, you should take wudhu' just like you are going to perform a prayer”
   [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]
   
   
3. AVOID STRESS
   When you are stress, you will keep thinking about that problem and it will makes you hard to sleep. For example, you had a fight with your best friend that evening. Later at night, you will feel guilty or angry with him or her. You will keep entertaining your emotions and you cannot fall asleep at all. On the other hand, Islam teaches us to remember Allah before we sleep.
   
   “Rasulullah s.a.w. said: Anyone who lies down to sleep and does not remember Allah(zikr) he or she will face loss at Allah's side.”
   [Narrated by Abu Daud]
   
   
   Furthermore, we are also encouraged to forgive others before we sleep. Remember, sleep is a short death. If only we die without forgiving others, they will have to face dangers in the hereafter.
   
   
   
4. SLEEP ACCORDING TO THE SCHEDULE
   Most students and adults do this: wake up early in weekdays but wake up late in weekends. They usually use the excuses like this, “I don't get enough sleep during weekdays, so I have to sleep more during weekends.” Unfortunately, this is wrong! You will only get a good sleep if you follow your sleep schedule. For example, if you sleep from 11 pm to 6 am during weekdays, you should do the same on holidays. There shouldn't be any differences among the days. Just try to sleep accordingly. How many hours should you sleep then? Actually, it's up to your own body. Some people only need 5 hours, while some others may need up to 9 hours. Don't force yourselves to follow others, or else you'll suffer!
   
   

Credit: http://emshelley.deviantart.com/art/Sleeping-Eevee-Animation-224070444

Although we, Muslims, are encouraged to wake up early in the morning to perform Tahajjud prayers and others, we should still have enough sleep.

“Rasulullah s.a.w said: You should sleep until the sleepiness goes away.”

[Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

So, let's have a good sleep to be more productive!