Sleep is a mystifying process of the human body that is far more than the closing of eyelids. Sleep is a state of unconsciousness produced by our body where the brain is at rest. Our quality of life has a deep impact on how we manage to sleep. After getting a sound sleep, you can start with refreshed mornings, and you will feel ready and eager for your daily activities.
The quality and the quantity of sleep have a major impact on our lifestyle.
Generally, it is said that 8-10 hours’ sleep is required to regenerate our body’s energy. Depending on your body structure, lifestyle, diet, and other day-to-day activities — if you decrease the amount of sleep, then the body may not go through or finish all sleep cycles or phases.
Sleep cycles help your body with a good memory, muscle and tissue repair, and the best regulation of hormones in the body. Even your appetite is affected by sleep.
Lethargy is expected when you sleep less, which may impact your concentration, energy, etc. Similarly, quality of sleep is also an important part of this process. A night of proper sleep helps release hormones, repair tissues, relax muscles, etc.
There are many misconceptions surrounding sleep, but many things can be done to improve the quantity and quality of sleep.
Many Causes of Disrupted Sleep Nowadays
- Stress, Depression, or low mood
- Medical issues like pain or breathing issues.
- Anxiety over unresolved issues of the day-to-day routine.
- Excessive use of caffeine, alcohol and smoking.
- Eating late.
- Surroundings
Some areas need to be explored to get a better night’s sleep — like your sleeping environment, what you eat (your diet), exercise, what you are thinking about, and your behaviors. Also, some measures must be taken to bring a balance in our lives and improve the quality of sleep. Below are some tips to improve your sleep. You can adopt these tips and witness positive results within a few days.
Surroundings andAtmosphere:
- The surroundings you live in function a lot in bringing you peace and providing you a comfortable sleep. You can also create an environment-friendly bedroom for yourself.
- Try maintaining the temperature of the room as it would relax your body.
- Block all noise from your bedroom or try some interiors with noise insulation. If these things can not be done, use earplugs.
- Avoid bright light before going to bed. You can also use black-out curtains.
- Your mattress and pillow should be comfortable enough. A clean and hygienic mattress and pillow may soothe your body’s comfort. Hand Wash pillows (nectarsleepdotcom) are free from washing chemicals and can be used immediately after drying in sunlight. Machine wash can ruin your pillows, and also, there is no guarantee of them getting germ-free. Hand wash is an exceptional option for getting your pillow germ-free. Also, the sunlight helps.
Diet:
- Avoid using caffeine before going to bed.
- Excessive consumption of alcohol and cigarettes disrupts the deeper stages of sleep.
- The main meal of the day or dinner should be completed 2-3 hours before going to bed.
- Avoid going to sleep hungry as this may lead to waking up in the middle of the night. Instead, drinking warm milk is a better idea before going to bed.
- Avoid spicy or heavy meals at dinner to avoid upset stomach issues at night.
Exercise:
- Regular exercise will help to sleep better.
- Brisk walking or jogging for 20-45 minutes a day, can boost your happy mood and relaxes your tensed muscles leading to a good night’s sleep.
- Yoga may be a better option. Breathing exercises can prevent respiratory issues and allow better sleep.
- A few relaxation techniques can enhance better sleep.
- Use the breath as a focus to calm your body and mind.
Controlling the thoughts through relaxation techniques:
- A few relaxation techniques can enhance the quality of sleep.
- Use the breath as a focus to calm your body and mind.
- You can also listen to soothing music.
- Meditate daily. Meditation relaxes all the tensed muscles and nerves.
- Ease your muscles by lying down on your bed and relax your body.
- Creative visualization is one beneficial process of relaxing your mind.
- Manage to have self-talk before going to bed. Tell yourself that you have all you can for now and will think about it again the next day. Then, you can choose a better solution to your problems and mark this in your diary.
- Negative thinking is a bad habit. Try imagining to get rid of all negative thinking and energy. This can help you to divert your mind towards the positivity of life.
Sleeping Habits:
- Going to bed and getting up at the same time, respectively.
- Daytime sleeping should be avoided.
- Try to use power naps instead of long naps in the daytime.
- Avoid doing mental work before going to bed. Stress on the nerves and brain at night can disturb your sleep.
- After going to bed, if you feel like you cannot sleep, get up from bed and try something boring or repetitive and go back to bed again.
- Try writing something before going to bed to avoid anxiety.
- Dim your lights 30 minutes before going to bed. This sends a message to your body that it’s bedtime.
- If you are not able to sleep, do not look at the clock repeatedly. Instead, you can engage yourself in different activities.
- Avoid listening to the news at night during tough times. This may create anxiety and tension.
- Taking a warm bath 30 minutes before going to bed can help promote relaxation and optimize body temperature changes that aid sleep.
Avoid Using Gadgets :
- Avoid using smartphones or laptops at night.
- Do not watch or place the television in your bedroom.
- Avoid using artificial lights during sleep time as it can disrupt our biological clock and tamper with our sleep.
The Bottom Line
There are many things we can do to improve the quality and quantity of sleep. There are chances that some tips may work miracles for you, or some may not. In a nutshell, do not overwhelm yourself by trying to make too many changes at once. Instead, try a few of them and see the effect.
Sleep comes naturally and effortlessly when we switch ourselves mentally. Think about the daily schedule and the different activities that you do, and try to figure out the balance between the mental and physical efforts being made by us in our day-to-day routine. If they are balanced enough, they will not trouble you at the end of the day and you will get a sound sleep.
Image Credit: provided by the author; thank you!
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