Most people underestimate the significance of a good night’s sleep. If you ask people the last time they had a good seven to nine hours of solid sleep, the chances are high that most of them won’t recall. Do you know that giving your body a solid night’s sleep elevates your mood, slows the aging process, enhances cognitive function, and regenerates the body and mind? It also boosts health and immunity, decreases anxiety and stress, helps weight management, and increases longevity.
Thus, sleep is vital in your daily life. You might have considered medications or sleeping pills in search of comfortable sleep if you have been encountering problems falling asleep. However, it’s worth noting that sleeping pills have many side effects, such as appetite fluctuations, drowsiness, dizziness, weird dreams, abdominal discomfort, and headaches. So, before opting for sleeping pills, here are tried and tested tips to help you get better and solid sleep at night.
1. Increase Light Exposure During the Day
Your body incorporates a circadian rhythm, a natural time-keeping clock that helps you stay awake and inform the body when to take a rest. The bright light or natural light during the day helps maintain the circadian rhythm’s health, enhancing nighttime sleep quality and daytime energy. If you have insomnia, you can reduce the time taken to fall asleep and improve your sleep quality and duration via daytime bright light exposure.
2. Get a Comfortable Mattress, Bed, and Pillow
Some of you may wonder why you enjoy the hotel’s sleep. Well, the calm environment and quality beds are the main reasons people have a sound sleep at hotels. Using a good mattress can help improve your sleep quality and reduce back stiffness, shoulder pain, and back pain. So, consider upgrading your bed, mattress, and pillow to improve your overall sleeping patterns. If you are on the road and traveling in an RV, there’s no shortage of quality sleep as you can find a short queen mattress size that can fit a tiny space.
3. Avoid Taking Many Naps in the Day
Although short power naps are essential during the day, irregular and long naps can negatively impact your sleep patterns. This can mess up your internal clock and affect your night’s sleep. All in all, this effect varies from person to person. So, there is no cause for alarm if you have a great rest at night despite taking naps during the day.
4. Lower Coffee Intake
Caffeine has incredible perks, and most people across the globe enjoy the benefits. However, if consumed at night or evening, it can stimulate your nervous system and stop your body from relaxing. If possible, avoid taking coffee after 3 p.m. if you have restless nights because caffeine can stay in your bloodstream for about eight hours.
5. Minimize Screen Time
Extended screen time is one of the causes of insomnia, as it pushes back bedtime. Your bedroom should not have any screen. You can unwind your body and brain if you reserve the bedroom for sleeping only. Develop a habit of refraining from TV, tablets, phones, and other gadgets about 90 minutes before sleep.
6. Develop a Sleeping and Waking Up Routine
As said earlier, your body has an internal clock, and you should align your daily routine to it. You can maintain a long-term sleep quality by having a constant time for waking and sleeping. If you have restless nights, try to develop a habit of waking up and sleeping at a specific time daily.
7. Avoid Taking Liquids Before Going to Bed
Drinking excess drinks at night can urge you to urinate a lot and subsequently affect your daytime energy and sleep pattern. So, you should minimize the beverages you take at night if you want to have a better sleep. It will also help if you make it a habit of using the restroom right before sleeping to minimize the chances of waking up in the middle of the night.
How to Get the Perfect Night’s Sleep
You are responsible for your night’s solid sleep. While having a perfect night’s sleep may seem like a tall order when your eyes are wide open at 4 AM, it should be noted that you hold the key to the quality of sleep you get every night. The way you feel during the day is usually related to how you sleep at night. Therefore, the solution to sleep problems can often be present in your daily routine.
Unhealthy lifestyle choices and daytime habits can give you sleepless nights and affect your immune system, brain and heart health, mood, weight, creativity, and vitality. Fortunately, you can incorporate the tips mentioned above to get a better and improved night’s sleep.
