Poor sleep affects brain functions, hormones, and exercise performance. There are lots of factors that affect one’s sleep quality. A good night’s sleep affects the quality of life. Apart from physical and mental-emotional balance, daily productivity is affected by our sleep quality. Thus, in this article, you’ll learn some of the noteworthy points on how to sleep better at night.
Sticking To A Sleeping Schedule
One should consider setting aside eight hours but not more than that for sleep. According to Troxel, Van Stolk, et al. (2017), healthy adults should sleep for seven hours. Having a schedule of a specific time for bed daily may also enable one to improve the quality of sleep they get during the night. Consistency in sleeping patterns would lead to consistency in wake-up patterns too. One may do something relaxing if not sleeping within the first twenty minutes in bed and get back to bed when they feel tired, which would enhance ease in falling asleep.
Check Feeding Patterns
You should be mindful of your diet, especially some hours before bedtime. Going to bed hungry, of course, might make it hard for one to fall asleep. On the contrary, you should avoid large and heavy meals, which might bring discomfort and make it hard for one to fall asleep easily. One should also avoid caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine hours before bedtime. According to Shambroom, Roth et al. (2013), Caffeine and nicotine have stimulating effects that may not quickly disappear, disrupting sleep quality. Alcohol may make one sleepy but disrupt sleep in the middle of the night.
Restful Environment
One should always consider that cool, quiet, and dark environments may increase sleep quality. Too much light exposure during the night makes it hard to fall asleep. Room-darkening shades, fans, and earplugs should be considered, among other devices that may ensure that the room environment is efficient for a good night’s sleep. Before bedtime, avoid screens emitting light.
Daytime Naps
Choosing to take a nap during the day may interfere with sleeping time during the night. A longer daytime nap would mean that one may find it hard to fall asleep during the night easily. If one may choose to take a nap during the day, they should do it not so late and take only 30 minutes or less. If one may be working during the night or on the night shift, sleeping later in the day may be efficient to ensure that they make up for their sleep debt.
Physical Activity as a Daily Routine
You should ensure that you spend at least some time outside doing some routine physical activities instead of being indoors for a whole day. It would ensure that your mind is refreshed and the body has had enough exercise to rest effectively. However, one should ensure that before bedtime, their bodies are relaxed from the physical activities so as not to find it hard to fall asleep quickly.
Manage Worries
Worries may bring about anxiety and stress, causing one to find it hard to fall asleep, especially during the night quickly. Before bedtime, therefore, you should try to resolve your concerns before going to sleep. Stress management may also be effective in this case. One may decide to set priorities, organize, and even delegate tasks. Engaging in reflective meditation also eases anxiety.
Contact Your Doctor
Having occasional sleepless nights has always been normal for almost everyone. Seeing a doctor may enable one to identify an underlying cause that might be leading one not to fall asleep. Therefore, identifying the issue would lead to an informed and successful treatment to get better sleep.
Relaxing Shower
Taking a relaxing shower during the night helps one find better sleep. It may be more effective for older adults who may be having problems in their sleeping routine. A warm bath before bedtime is termed effective. On an occasion where one may find it hard to take a full shower during the night, one may wash their feet in warm water; this would improve sleep.
Consider a Comfortable Bed, Mattress, and Pillow.
In a relaxing environment, the bed quality that one sleeps on also affects sleep quality. Having uncomfortable beddings may cause back pain, stiffness, shoulder pain, and neck pain. It certainly will not allow one to fall asleep easily. Therefore, one should ensure that they replace their beddings as soon as they feel that the quality has reduced because of using them over a long period, like after 5-8 years. Therefore, having a comfortable bed, mattress and pillows is a free ticket to having a comfortable sleep at night.
Final Verdict
To sum up, many factors cause a lack of sleep, affecting someone’s productivity throughout the day and interaction with others. Lack of quality sleep may lead to obesity and the risk of developing heart disease and even diabetes. These health conditions have other causes, too, apart from poor quality sleep. Lack of quality sleep has been a disturbing issue for a long time. Still, one should endeavor to put these matters to practice to get an avenue for better sleep which would imply better productivity in their daily routines.
References
Hafner, M., Stepanek, M., Taylor, J., Troxel, W. M., & Van Stolk, C. (2017). Why sleep matters—the economic costs of insufficient sleep: a comparative cross-country analysis. Rand health quarterly, 6(4).
Drake, C., Roehrs, T., Shambroom, J., & Roth, T. (2013). Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before bed. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 9(11), 1195-1200.
