There are a lot of factors that are interfering with a good night's sleep. For instance, family responsibilities, unexpected challenges, work stress, illness, and so on. For that reason, it is not a wonder why a good night's sleep sometimes can be elusive.
Even if there are certain things you can not control in life, sleep is not one of them. Here is advice on how to have a restful night's sleep and why you should have one.
Where to Start?
The start is to create a room that is just ideal for sleeping. In most cases, this would refer to a dark, cool, and quiet space. Exposure to light can make it more difficult to fall asleep for anyone. It would be wise to avoid prolonged use of screens that are emitting light just before bedtime. Basically, the whole sleep environments that we have should be modified. Also, it is recommended to consider using earplugs, room-darkening shades, a fan, or any other device that can create an environment that will suit your needs. If you were to do some calming activities before bedtime. For example, after a long bath, sleep will be better.
Exposure to Daylight
Everyone's body has a natural time-keeping clock. It is known as a circadian rhythm. What the rhythm does, it affects your hormones, body, and brain and assists you to stay awake. On the other hand, the circadian rhythm is telling your body when it is time to go to bed. Bright light, or natural sunlight that is present during the day, can help and keep your circadian rhythm stay healthy.
This will improve your daytime energy, as well as the quality of nighttime sleep. For people that suffer from insomnia, daytime bright light exposure will provide the duration of sleep as well as its quality. Also, according to research, being exposed to the light during the day will reduce the time you took to fall asleep by 83 percent.
A similar study has found in older adults, that 2 hours of bright light exposure does increase their amount of sleep. It extends it by 2 hours, as well as the sleep efficiency by around 80 percent. Even if most studies involve people that have severe sleep issues, daily light exposure will certainly assist you even if you do not have the same problems.
Remove Blue Lights
As previously stated, exposure to light during the day is beneficial for sleep, although nighttime light presence has quite the opposite effect This happens because of the same effect on your circadian rhythm. It tricks your brain to think that it is still a day.
This will reduce hormones such as melatonin, which ultimately assists you to get deep sleep and relaxation as well. Blue lights which are produced by electronic devices like TV screens, smartphones, and computers are the worst in this matter.
Be Consistent
Even if it is claimed that more than eight hours of sleep is good for you, it actually is not. The recommended amount for any healthy adult should be at least seven hours. The majority of people do not need more than those eight hours in bed. If you have a bad sleeping schedule, it is time to change it. Meaning, go to bed and get up every day at the same time.
Also, it would be wise to try and limit the difference in your sleep time schedule on weekends to no more than one hour. By being consistent, your body's sleep and wake cycle will be reinforced. In case you do not fall asleep within about 20 minutes, it is advisable to leave your bed and do something that relaxes you. For instance, you could read or listen to calm music.
Food and Drinks
It is recommended not to go to bed hungry or too full. Particularly, it is recommended to avoid any heavy or large meals within a couple of hours before bedtime. Also, caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine, caffeine consumption should be also cautious. Nicotine and caffeine have a stimulating effect that takes hours to wear which ruins sleep time. Even if alcohol can make you feel sleepy, it can also disrupt your sleep later during the night.
Just as regular exercise and a good diet, a good night's sleep is more than important. Not having a good night's sleep will affect your hormones, exercise performance, as well as brain function in a negative way according to some studies.
For that reason, and many others, this advice might come useful. At the end of the day, or in this case, night there is nothing more fulfilling than having a good and restful night.
