Healthy Sleep Tips Which Can Improve Your Health
Do you find yourself turning and tossing in your sleep? These straightforward tips will assist you in getting a better night’s sleep and being more invigorated and productive during the day.
How can I obtain a better night’s sleep?
A good night’s sleep directly impacts your emotional and physical health. Sleep deprivation can affect your daily energy, productivity, emotional balance, and weight. Many of us wake up tossing and turning at night, unable to get the rest we need.
Getting a good night’s sleep may seem impossible when you’re wide awake at 3 a.m., but you have considerably more control over the quality of your sleep than you probably realize. The solution to sleep problems is typically found in your daily routine, just as how well you sleep at night influences how you feel throughout the day.
Unhealthy habits and lifestyle preferences may cause you to toss and turn at night, affecting your mood, brain and heart health, immune system, creativity, vitality, and weight throughout the day. You can upgrade the quality of your sleep, your health, and how you think and feel during the day by experimenting with the following tips.
Tip 1: Sleep and wake up according to your body’s natural rhythms
Getting in touch with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm is one of the most basic strategies for sleeping better. Even if you modify your sleep pattern by an hour or two, sticking to a consistent sleep-wake schedule will leave you feeling far more refreshed and energized than sleeping the same hours at different times.
To help synchronize your bodily clock and enhance your sleep quality, try going to bed and waking up at the exact same time almost every day. To reduce tossing and turning, go to bed when you are normally exhausted. If you get enough sleep, you should be able to wake up naturally without using an alarm clock. If you require an alarm clock, it is probably best that you go to bed sooner.
Even on weekends, stay awake as long as possible. The more your weekend and weekday sleep cycles differ, the more jet lag-like symptoms you’ll experience. If you want to make up for a late night, take a nap during the day instead of sleeping in. You may repay your sleep debt without disrupting your usual sleeping and waking rhythms by doing this.
When it comes to sleeping, be strategic. While napping might help you backfill lost sleep, it should only be allowed to last 15 to 20 minutes during the early afternoon if you have trouble sleeping or staying asleep at night. A nutritious breakfast will get your day off to a good start. Breakfast can help your biological clock sync up by indicating to your body that it’s time to wake up and get moving, among other things. On the other hand, breakfast deprivation can cause sleep disruption by delaying blood sugar cycles, reducing energy, and increasing tension.
Defeat the after-dinner drowsiness. If you become drowsy before night, get off the sofa and do something mildly stimulating, such as washing the dishes, calling a friend, or getting your clothes ready for the next day. If you become drowsy, you may wake up later in the night and have trouble falling back asleep.
Tip 2: Keep your light exposure to a minimum
Melatonin is a hormone that governs your sleep-wake cycle and is influenced by light exposure. Your brain produces more melatonin in the dark, making you tired, and less in the light, making you awake. However, many aspects of modern life can interfere with your body’s melatonin production and alter your circadian rhythm. Here’s how to manage your exposure to light:
Throughout the working day
Expose oneself to bright sunlight first thing in the morning. It’s best if you get closer to your wake-up time. Take your coffee outside or have your breakfast in front of a bright window. You will be aided in waking up by the intense light on your face.
During the day, increase the amount of time you spend outside. Take your work breaks out in the sunlight, exercise outdoors, or walk your dog during the day instead of at night.
Allow as much natural bright light into your home or office as possible. Keep the drapes and blinds open during the day, and try to move your desk closer to the window.
As needed, use a light therapy box. This gives the appearance of sunlight, which is especially useful during the short winter days.
Late in the evening
Avoid bright displays for the first 1-2 hours after going to bed. Blue light from your phone, tablet, computer, or television is incredibly irritating. Reduce the impact by using different devices with smaller screens, lowering the brightness, or using light-altering software like f.lux.
Watching late-night television is not a good idea. Not only does television light hinder melatonin production, but many shows are exciting rather than relaxing. Listen to music or audiobooks instead.
Reading should not be done with backlit devices. Tablets with backlighting are more distracting than e-readers without a light source.
When it’s time to take a good sleep, make sure the room is dark. Use heavy dark curtains or shades, or a sleep mask, to block off light from the windows. Consider also dealing with light-emitting electronics.
Turn off the lights if you wake up at night. If you need some bright light to move around safely, install a modest nightlight in the hall or bathroom, or use a little flashlight. This will make it very easy for you to get back to sleep.
Tip #3: Get some exercise during the day
Regular exercisers get more restful sleep at night and are less exhausted throughout the day. Regular exercise also reduces time spent in deep, restorative rest periods, which helps with insomnia and sleep apnea symptoms.
Moderate to intense workouts should be finished at least three hours before bedtime. Start your activities early if you’re still having difficulties sleeping. Less hectic exercises such as yoga or gentle stretching in the evening can help you sleep better.
The fourth suggestion is to keep track of what you eat and drink.
How good you sleep is influenced by your eating habits during the day, particularly in the hours leading up to tonight.
Make an effort to eat a heart-healthy diet. Individual meals, not your overall eating habits, can impact the quality of your sleep and your general health. A Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, fruit, healthy fats, and less red meat may help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
Tip #4: Improve the quality of your sleeping environment.
A soothing nightly ritual signals to your brain that it’s time to rest and let go of the day’s stresses. Even small changes to your environment can significantly impact your sleep quality.
Create a dark, peaceful, and quiet ambiance in your room. Reduce the amount of noise that comes into your home. If you can’t prevent or decrease noise from neighbors, traffic, or other people in your house, use a sound machine to cover it. Earplugs may also help with this.
Maintain a suitable temperature in your room. The majority of people prefer to sleep in a slightly chilly environment (about 65° F or 18° C) and sufficiently air. In a too hot or cold bedroom, it might be difficult to get a good night’s sleep.
Check to see if your bed is big enough for you. You should be able to stretch and turn comfortably in the fabric of your bed without getting tangled. If you feel discomfort when you wake up, try adjusting the firmness levels of your mattress, foam toppers, and pillows that give more or less support.
Only sleep and sex should be done in your bed. If you don’t work, watch TV, or use your phone, tablet, or computer in bed, your brain will associate the bedroom with sleep and sex. This will make it convenient for you to unwind at night.
Tip #5: Figure out how to fall asleep again.
It’s natural to wake up in the middle of the night, but if you’re having trouble falling back asleep, consider these tips:
Get your mind out of the gutter. Try not to be concerned by your inability to go asleep again, no matter how difficult it is, because stress encourages your body to stay awake. To break free from your thoughts, focus on your body’s sensations or conduct breathing exercises. Deeply inhale, then exhale slowly while repeating or thinking the word “Ahhh.” Rep with a second breath.
Conclusion
Make relaxation, rather than sleep, your primary objective. If you can’t sleep, try a relaxation technique like visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, or meditation, which you can do without leaving bed. Even if it isn’t a substitute for sleep, relaxation can help your body rejuvenate.
Ameer is the content director of Sleepingmentor, which means he not only reviews new mattresses, bedsheets, pillows, and mattress toppers every week, but also curates all the comparisons, best of pages, reviews pages, and vs pages on the site. He takes a straightforward, honest approach to his reviews. He covers sleep science by researching a lot on Google and finding meaningful content which entertains his users.
