Tips to Get a Good Night’s Sleep and Wake Up Refreshed
Sleep is an essential part of our daily lives. We need to sleep to recharge our body and refresh our minds. Lack of sleep can lead to several problems such as lethargy and fatigue, to name a few. So, how do you ensure that you get the optimum amount of sleep every day as well as get the best sleep quality? Do not fret as The Sleep Adviser is here to guide you on how to maximize the quality of your sleep and prevent sleep disorders from ruining your lifestyle.
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Sleep Tip #1 – Follow a Strict Sleeping Schedule
8 hours is the ideal amount of sleep everyone should maintain daily. For adults, you can push that down to seven hours. In order to maintain a healthy sleep schedule, you must make a habit of sleeping and wake up around the same time regularly. Consistency is the key to train your body in a healthy sleep cycle.
If you find that you can’t seem to sleep. Try getting out of the bedroom and do something that relaxes you. Reading, listening to some chill music, or meditating will do wonders. After about 20 minutes, get back to bed and try to get some shut eye.
Sleep Tip #2 – Be Conscious About Your Daily Diet
Eating and your daily choice of food can heavily impact your sleeping experience and pattern. If you go to bed hungry or heavily stuffed this can affect your sleep quality. Both can cause some discomfort during your sleep and might cause you to wake up every hour or half an hour. Not a good way to spend the night.
You should also avoid consuming food and drinks that have stimulating effects. A good example here is caffeine. Avoid coffee before going to bed as its effects can take several hours to wear off. Nicotine can also have similar effects on your body. Alcohol can also disrupt the natural chemicals in your body. It is true that drinking alcohol can make you feel sleepy for the time being but it can also interrupt your sleep later into the night. Again, try to incorporate a healthy diet comprising of fruits and vegetables to help regulate your body.
Sleep Tip #3 – Develop a Relaxing Environment
It goes without saying that the bedroom should be a place that we can feel safe, comfortable, and relaxed. It should exude the atmosphere that we find relaxing. Quiet, cool, and mood lighting are a few of the bedroom necessities that pop at the top of my head.
Incorporating other calming items into your bedroom will significantly boost the relaxation that you can experience. Darkening shades and air-conditioning, a silky-smooth bedsheet or duvet – all of these, when combined can deliver an extremely relaxing experience. You can also do some calming activities before going to bed as a form of preparation. For example, taking a relaxing bubble bath can relax muscles before you even get to lie down on your bed.
Sleep Tip #4 – Limiting Naps During Daytime
This is a rather common mistake that most people do. While naps can help give you that extra boost of energy for the day, napping too long will deliver the opposite effect. You should aim for a 20 to 30-minute nap but make sure you do so not too late into the day.
Taking a long nap can actually leave you more tired afterward. It can also affect your sleeping schedule later in the evening, causing you to fall asleep later. However, for people who work a graveyard shift, it is advisable to take longer naps during the day to circumvent the effect of late-night work.
Sleep Tip #5 – Incorporate Daily Exercise into your Routine
This is a tried and true technique to improve the quality of one’s sleep. Exercise and other physical activities during the day can help in developing better sleep-wake cycle. Of course, you should not do any exercise if you are planning to sleep in an hour or so as the adrenaline pumping through your body will keep you alert for quite some time.
Do exercise in the morning or in the afternoon. Work up a sweat. Not only is it healthy for your body, but it will also help relax your muscles once you’ve rested. You can also spend some time outside, just taking in the fresh air while on your daily jog or walk around your area.
Sleep Tip #6 –Keep Stress Away
Never take stress into your bedroom. If you have any unfinished work, take a note, set it aside, and finish it up tomorrow. Stress management is key here, organize your priorities before hitting the sack. Meditation can also help alleviate and eliminate stress. Remember, a bedroom is a place of peace and it should stay that way always. If your bedroom is tainted by anxiety and stress it can manifest in sleep disorders which basically opens you up to other health issues.
Sleep Tip #7 –Turn Off Your Gadgets
Make sure that your body associates your bed with sleep. If you do a multitude of activities on your bed it can make sleep that much harder to come by. Simply put, the bed should be strictly for relaxation and sleeping. Give yourself adequate time to check your emails, browse through news, watch TV, play video games, and other activities before heading to the bedroom.
Final Thoughts
Sleep is an important aspect of maintaining our health. By following the guidelines listed above, you can improve the quality of your sleep while also preventing sleep disorders from manifesting. Getting a good sleep will keep your body and mind refreshed for the next day, making more than ready to tackle the world again.
