10 Dec 4 Simple Steps Everyone Can Take to Improve Their Sleep
How many times have you found yourself awake at 3 am, rolling around the bed, just not being able to fall asleep? In those unfortunate nights, you just feel nervous and think that it is simply mission impossible to finally fall asleep. Believe it or not, having a good night’s rest depends entirely up to you, and you can take over control more than you think you can; you just need to embrace healthy sleeping habits. There are certain steps you can take that will help you maximize the hours you spend sleeping, even if your sleep is affected by jet lag, working shifts or insomnia. Here are some simple steps that can improve the quality of your sleep and help you wake up refreshed and well rested.
Avoid Chemicals That Can Interfere with Sleep
Everyone who is a coffee lover just knows that caffeine has one purpose – making you stay awake. So, the best thing to do if you want to get some quality sleep is to avoid it for four to six hours before you go to sleep. Caffeine, except being in coffee, can also be found in chocolate, tea, cola and even some pain killers. Smokers should also refrain themselves from smoking tobacco products when it is time for going to bed. Although many people say that alcohol helps them sleep, after a couple of hours, it starts to act as a stimulant and it increases the number of awakenings and lowers the quality of the sleep. So, try limiting alcohol consumption to maybe one or two drinks every day and avoid it for at least three hours before bedtime.
Tweak up Your Bedroom
If you create a nice, quiet, cool and dark environment in your bedroom, you will get a better good night’s sleep. First, try to lower the outside noise with some earplugs or maybe a white noise machine. Put on some heavy curtains, an eye mask to block light and keep the room temperature cool, between 15 and 23 Celsius. Have in mind that you need to have a comfortable mattresses and pillows, since they are maybe the most important part of getting good quality sleep. If you want to be extra comfortable and just feel like you are sleeping on a cloud, our friends at The Sleep Judge advise you to try placing a topper on your mattress, to give it an extra layer of comfort and protection. Try keeping the computer and TV far from your bedroom; the same goes for your work materials. That way, you can create a mental association to sleeping whenever you walk into your bedroom.
Eat Light and Drink a Lot of Fluids
Eating heavy food in the evening can basically be a recipe for insomnia. Your dinner should be light and eaten a couple of hours before bedtime. Try to avoid foods that cause indigestion and, if you feel hungry at night, take snacks that won’t disturb your quality sleep, like carbohydrates or dairy foods. Drink a lot of fluids before you go to sleep, to prevent yourself from waking up thirsty, but don’t overdo it, because you will wake up at night, to take a few trips to the bathroom.
Exercise Early During the Day
Exercise helps you fall asleep really fast and it provides you with quality sleep, but only if it is done at the right time of the day. By exercising, you stimulate the body to induce the stress hormone, cortisol, and this hormone helps activating alert mechanism in the brain. This is good for your body, but not good when you are trying to get some sleep. So, make sure that you do your exercise earlier during the day, a minimum of three hours before bedtime.
We believe that these tips are easy to include in your daily routine, and if you follow through, you will increase your chances of having a quality and restful sleep. So, try implementing our advice step by step, and we guarantee that you will solve any of the sleeping problems you might have been facing, due a to poor diet, lack of fluids or too much caffeine intake. There will not be any more rolling around the bed and counting the sheep until the early morning hours.
