Sleeping is extremely beneficial to keep good health. Without a proper cycle, you would not be able to function correctly. It is a way to recharge and rejuvenate the body. Most adults and even teenagers have reported that they are not getting enough hours of sleep in a day. It is a widespread problem and most experience difficulty sleeping at one point of the life or the other. 6 to 7 hours of sleep for some people consider being healthy, but most adults need about 8 hours of sleep during the night.
The difficulty that you experience at night when you are trying to fall asleep can be attributed to many causes. When you do not get a good night’s rest, you may find that you are unable to focus during the day. This can cause headaches, fatigue, and irritable mood. You may find yourself getting cranky and snapping even at the smallest of things.
You can also suffer from sleeplessness and get woken up from your sleep frequently. Frankly, it is quite editing and can lower your libido, weaken your immunity, and also is one of the causes of obesity. Many people ignore these signs and do not realize that it can have far worse consequences like cancer, diabetes, cancer, and car accidents. In this article, you will know how to sleep better and give your body to relax.
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Tips To Follow On How To Sleep Better
Given below are some of the things that you can do to improve your sleep cycle. You can understand by now that sleep is an essential part of your day. It is easier said than done, but you should put some effort into improving your health. You cannot take care of yourself if you do not give your body the time to recharge and rejuvenate. Try out these steps in your life and see how you can sleep peacefully at night.
Create A Cool Environment
When you are sleeping in a warm environment, it becomes tough to fall asleep. It keeps you awake, and you will take a much longer time to fall asleep. This is why you should lower your room temperature, as this will decrease your core body temperature. When, your core body temperature goes down, the temperature of your hands and feet increases. This temperature change in your body helps you fall asleep faster.
Of course, individual preference is also significant, and there is another way to achieve this. You can just take a nice warm shower before you go to bed. As your body temperature decreases when you are lying down on the bed, it will tell your brain that it is time to fall asleep. The ideal temperature that most people enjoy is 15 degrees Celsius to 23 degrees Celsius. Find the right temperature for yourself and see the change overnight.
Fix A Schedule For Yourself
Sleep schedule for you can be the right thing. It helps many people, and there is a scientific basis for it. The circadian rhythm aura the regulatory system within your body works like a clock. It allows you to stay alert and awake during the day but sleepy during the night.
You would have to listen to this internal clock and create a habit. Do this; you have to wake up and go to bed at the same time every single day. You have to make a conscious decision to stick to the timings.
Once your body gets accustomed to the schedule, you will find that it is much easier to follow it. You should at least try to get 8 hours of sleep. This will be helpful, and you will find yourself full of energy the next morning.
You should also try to give yourself around 45 minutes to unwind before getting into the bed. It is better that you do not scroll on your phone during this time. If you allow your body to get the proper rest time to unwind, it will be much better.
Reduce The Amount Of You Spend On Electronics During The Evening
During the day, exposure to bright light is beneficial, but the same cannot be said at night. Due to our busy work life, we cannot disconnect from our devices. When you are exposed to the bright light during the nighttime, the circadian rhythm does not benefit.
It erroneously tricks your brain to believe that it is the daytime. Melatonin production is produced in the body, which is a hormone that helps you relax and sleep.
The worst kind of light the truly affects the sleep cycle is blue light. It is also very harmful to the eyes. Electronic gadgets like smartphones and laptops give out high amounts of blue light. You should purchase and invest in a pair of glasses that would block blue light. This is one of the easiest ways to reduce blue light exposure during night time.
Many apps block blue light from your laptop or smartphone. You should also not watch movies before going to bed. Many people consider it to be a high night time activity to unwind. However, its long term effects on the sleep cycle are quite adverse.
Caffeine Consumption During The Evening Should Not Be Done
The benefits of caffeine cannot be neglected, and we are not asking you to quit drinking your favorite beverage. Drinking caffeine can help in increasing your energy focus. It is also the performance during strenuous activity. This is why you will find in most countries, and coffee is a staple breakfast component.
However, when you consume coffee latter in the day, you are stimulating your nervous system into producing more energy. This can stop your body from relaxing during the night. You may not realize, but consuming caffeine 6 hours prior to bedtime can also have long term effects.
The reason for this is that caffeine can stay elevated in your blood for around 7 hours. This is why you should not consume caffeine after 3 p.m.
Stop Checking The Time
To learn how to sleep better, you have to unlearn the habit of checking the time. It is a widespread thing we do whenever we wake up in the middle of the night. Just trust your alarm as it is a very normal thing that happens to many people.
Most people tend to go right back to sleep when they wake up. This is okay. However, if you are already having problems falling asleep, then waking up in the middle of the night and checking the time can have adverse effects.
You may have noticed that when you cannot fall back to sleep, you keep thinking about the time. You may start to obsess over how much time you are wasting by keeping away, which in turn is affecting your ability to fall asleep. Try to give your body the chance to fall asleep without spooking it by looking at the watch.
Many people who have insomnia have revealed that they obsessively look at the clock, which causes them to suffer from anxiety. This is a real problem and should be taken seriously. This can become a habit if you do not take care of it as your body will create a routine of waking up in the middle of the night. You do not want to make this a habit, and it is advisable to remove any big clock from your room. You should also keep your device at a distance so that you do not fall into the urge to check it.
Another thing that many people do is that when they check the time on their phone, they are compelled to check any new notification. Thus, the cycle of lousy sleeping is practices continuous.
Try Not To Nap During The Daytime
When you do not get a good night’s rest, you tend to fall asleep during the day. You may think that the daytime naps that you frequently take are helping you. This help is actually for a short period, as in the long run, it is wrecking your sleep cycle.
Some doctors have said that small naps during the day improve your health and it is good for performance. However, if you nap for more than 2 hours, then it becomes an issue. If this becomes a habit, then during the night time, you will have problems falling asleep. Some people have even suffered from sleep deprivation due to this habit.
Older adults mostly complain about having a hard time falling asleep. Many tend to rely upon sleeping pills, which is not a great practice. One of the reasons for this is many of them take naps during the day. This can lead to obesity, depressive moods, and lack of energy.
It should be kept in mind that this is not always true for a lot of people. Some people function better by taking maps while others cannot fall asleep during the night time. Check if this is affecting your sleep cycle and check the necessary steps to improve your health.
Check Your Diet
The kind of food that you eat affects your sleep schedule. If you take a lot of high carb meals, you will find yourself having trouble sleeping properly. You may find the strange as you must have noticed that after a sizeable heavy carb meal, you tend to fall asleep. This is true, but the sleepers will not be a contentful one.
Even though you fall asleep faster, you will not feel much rested. When you are consuming a high carb diet with little fat, your quality of sleep will decrease. You can just switch the two and noticed a significant change in your sleep.
This does not mean that you have to give up on high carb meals. If you have a craving and feel unhappy in sticking to a strict diet always, then also you are not doing yourself a favor. You can still enjoy a high carb diet once in a while but try to eat it at least four hours before going to bed. This way, you are giving your body enough time to digest the food.
Some Food That You Can Eat That Will Help You To Sleep Correctly Are As Follows:
- Almonds
- Chamomile Tea
- Turkey
- Tart Cherry Juice
- Kiwi
- Passionflower Tea
- Fatty Fish
- Walnuts
- White Rice
- Milk
- Oatmeal
- Bananas
You can contact dietitian and make the necessary changes in your diet plan. See what works for your body and feel satisfied with your sleep as well as your diet.
Put On Some Soothing Tunes
A gentle, soothing tune will help you relax. This is one of the tricks that most people use, as it is beneficial. Create a playlist from beforehand so that you do not have to skip tracks. Make sure that you are not engaging yourself with the device. Just put on the music in low volume and try to drift off to sleep.
Many doctors have prescribed this to people who have insomnia as well. It significantly improves your mood while putting you off to sleep. However, this does not work for everyone. If you are one of those people, try to block all noise from your bedroom by using thick curtains. Create the right environment for yourself and sleep more peacefully.
Conclusion
Sleep is an essential part of keeping a healthy body. When someone says they can function with less than 3 hours of sleep in a day, it should not be taken as a great thing. It is not something to be proud of, as, in the long run, you are harming your body. In this modern life, it is challenging to give your body space and time to relax. This is why you should try and make an effort to develop a healthy sleep cycle.
If you do not sleep properly, you are affecting your productivity levels. Follow the tips and try to implement them in your life. We understand that it is impossible for everyone but starts making small changes and sees how it affects your health positively.