Physical exercise and a good diet are important for good health, but most people tend to overlook the importance of good sleep. There is a lot of bad things that come with sleep deprivation, with the most common ones being moodiness, tiredness, lack of concentration, and hormonal imbalance in the body, amongst others.
The good news is that the ability to get a good night rest is not a preserve of the few, and anyone who decides to commit to sleeping well at night will most definitely have sound sleeps every single night. Discussed below are some of the few approaches you can use any day to ensure you sleep like a baby and wake up feeling strong and refreshed every morning-:
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Have a commitment to having a better sleep
With the current lifestyles that feature a lot of dramatic distractions, even falling asleep once you get to the bedroom may be a problem. There is always the urge to catch with your social media feeds, chat with friends using the instant messaging ups or watch the latest episodes of your favorite shows before you go to bed.
All these come in your way of getting good and quality sleep at night. Since most of these habits are addictive in nature, you must fight them off by committing to have a better sleep at night. It may not be easy in the beginning, but it is totally doable and it is a step you must take if you desire to reap from the benefits of a good sleep.
Have a very strong bedtime routine
Your body is a system which hosts the circadian rhythm – the rhythm responsible for your going to bed and waking up, and as such, it is imperative to prime it for getting to bed. This is achieved by having a very definite routine for going to bed. It begins with setting definite time to go to bed and to wake up and you have to stick to this schedule, including the weekends when you may be tempted to compensate for the sleep you may have lost during the weekdays.
You should also learn to switch off your body from the day’s activities by reducing your amount of engagement as bedtime approaches. For example, you should turn off the television, avoid your phone and laptops and not engage in anything that might increase your mental activity since this will make it more difficult for you to fall asleep.
Make your bedroom sleep-friendly
Sleeping like a baby and waking up feeling strong and refreshed will be like a mirage if you can’t have the perfect sleep environment. This may mean making a few changes in your bedroom to make it more sleep-friendly, with some of the common approaches being investing in quality mattresses and pillows (here is a look at some of the best purple mattress reviews you can consider for your bedroom), making the room as dark as possible, removing tech gadgets from the bedroom, setting the right AC temperatures, playing white sounds in the room and painting your bedroom with the right colors or images. There are a lot of cool wallpapers you can use to instantly change the look and feel of your bedroom without worrying about expensive painting services.
Exercise regularly
Regular exercise is vital for having a good rest at night. Studies suggest that those who do regular exercises for at least three days a week usually sleep better and wake up feeling stronger and more refreshed than those who exercise for fewer days or those who don’t work out at all. It is always recommended that you have your exercises in the morning or early afternoon, but never late in the evening or just before going to bed. Exercising late in the day may increase your thermal index and your body will be at a high state of activity, thus depriving you of the chance to relax and fall into deep sleep.
Don’t eat heavy meals before going to bed
Heavy meals before bed are never encouraged, especially if they are full of carbohydrates. This is because you are going to overwork your digestion system – your body will be digesting the food when in essence you should be falling asleep. Besides, such heavy meals may also lead to bloating or heartburns which will without a doubt cause discomfort or even disrupt your sleep.
If you have to eat the heavy meals, take them in the early evening, when you have a couple of hours before going to bed. This is so that by the time you are going to sleep, a lot of digestion is already done, and you will be in a better position to have a good sleep. If you feel hungry before going to bed, there are certainly recommended snacks you can use to keep the hunger off as you sleep.
Morning exposure to adequate sunlight
Once you open your eyes, it is also important to fully awake your internal clock system and let the body know that the day has begun. The most ideal way to do this is to expose yourself to sunlight every morning. This will help to regularize your sleeping pattern, especially if you can have a regular time for waking up, and will also help you keep alert during the day. At winter, when there may not be adequate sunlight, you can consider sitting in front of a light therapy box for about half an hour immediately after waking up. For summer, make a habit of taking a morning walk and leave your glasses at home so that your eyes can have full exposure to the natural morning light.
Don’t smoke or drink coffee before going to bed
You must also limit your intake of coffee and nicotine just before going to be the bed. This is because these are known stimulants and will do nothing but increase your heart rate as well as your brain activity, and as such, you can kiss goodbye to falling asleep fast and waking up feeling strong and refreshed. For a better sleep, don’t take any coffee or smoke a cigarette after 5 pm.
