Did you know you could have a better life when you improve your sleep?
Feeling tired all the time and the lack of sleep may cause not only tiredness but serious health issues and reduce your productivity.
In this article, we will discuss ten habits that will improve your sleep quality and help you live a healthy life.
Why improve your sleep is important?
Sleeping is essential, it helps your body to relax from the pressure we all get from work, school and doing literally anything through the day.
Think of it as a way to charge your brain, just like you charge your phone and hope it is going to operate as much longer as possible.
While you sleep, many processes that your body can not perform during the time you are in the state of being awake, unlock.
What happens while you sleep:
your body relaxes – physically and mentally;
it also clears itself of harmful viruses and bacteria;
sleep controls weight;
a good sleep fights depression and makes you feel better.
In this article, we will discuss several healthy lifestyle tips that could help you improve your sleep quality and stay fresh throughout the whole day.
10 hacks for a night of better sleep:
Take more exercises
Not only is doing sports of great importance to staying fit and healthy, but it benefits for falling asleep faster.
When you tire yourself through the day, it will be easier to fall asleep at night.
Studies show that a 30-minute sports activity per day is enough to grant you sweet dreams.
However, do not do it right before going to bed, for your heartbeat will accelerate, which won’t help you sleep better at all.
Eat healthy food and meals
The best way to manage your diet is by eating most of your meals by midday and almost none after 6 pm.
A lot of people cope with insomnia by eating special food like almond nuts, bananas, milk goods, and etc., that are rich in magnesium and initiate sleep hormones.
Nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol are as well not recommended if you want to sleep better.
Listen to your nature clock
The circadian body rhythm is called the thing that connects us to nature and its cycles.
It is our inside body clock.
The circadian rhythm is different for every person, therefore some of us feel more energetic early in the morning, others at night.
The way to get the best of your circadian rhythm is to follow it.
Monitor at what time of the day you feel sleepy and the opposite, then adapt your daily routine according to that.
If needed and if applicable, change the time you go to work, eat, and go out.
Turn your phone off while resting and most importantly, start by little, because you do not want to stress out your body with drastic changes.
Thus you won’t be working against your body.
Be careful with lighting
In addition to the previous statements is that artificial lighting affects the circadian rhythm, too.
Without a doubt, humanity is already too dependent on this kind of lighting.
Since it was invented it has changed everybody’s sleeping pattern.
Artificial lights give fake signals to our bodies about the perception of time and whether it is day or night.
In order to avoid such traumas, try to minimize strong lights in the late hours.
Then go for warm colored light bulbs, that are closer to the sun’s natural color spectrum, and replace them in all of the rooms that you spend a lot of time in the evenings.
Try natural remedies
Many essential oils are the key to improve your sleep quality.
Scents can bring up different feelings, including relaxation.
This is the reason why scent therapies exist.
Some of the most famous and reliable essential oils for beating insomnia are lavender, valerian, sandalwood and chamomile.
In fact, you can use any essential oil or scent that you like, brings you good memories, and lets your brain relax.
Meditate
Clean your brain clear of unwanted and excessive information.
All you have to do it to leave all your problems aside and think of nothing.
Give your brain some rest for several minutes.
Let it prepare for rest and sweet dreams.
Read a book
Already it’s scientifically proven that reading can reduce stress by almost 70%.
And since the main cause of sleeplessness is stress and anxiety, not only is reading a great way to relieve them, but you will spend some time before bed with a great story and favorite characters that will let you forget your problems for a while.
Optimize your bedroom
The room you sleep in should be appropriate for that. One must feel comfortable in his own bed.
Therefore you should invest a bit in making that special place the bedroom of your dreams.
For example, cool down the temperatures and dim the lights.
Remove all blue light sources, so that you do not get distracted and stick to colors and palettes that you would enjoy to see every morning when you wake up.
Protect your eyes from blue light
Eyes are closely connected to our well-sleep and blue light, which is emitted by all electronics with displays – like smartphones, computers, tablets, and TVs – damage them.
Blue light affects melatonin production, which is one of the main sleep hormones.
Also, blue light affects the circadian rhythm of which we talked at the beginning, plus that it damages our eyesight.
Nonetheless, we live in such times where the use of technologies is unavoidable.
The best way to both use your devices and not harm your eyes is to launch software like Iris.
Iris is like a filter that blocks the blue light radiation from your smartphone and computer effectively.
This software works in the background and will not distract you from doing your job.
Clearing out the blue light, your eyes will not strain and you can expect a better sleep experience after the long hours you spend in staring in the display.
Make a before-bed routine
By using all of the tips above you could compose a great bedtime routine to help you fall asleep faster and sleep better.
Start by turning off all the blue light from your computer and phone with Iris without having to put them aside, then see what will work for you and experiment!
Last words
The great things start with small and easy steps, like a good quality sleep.
It is not difficult at all to look after your own health.
After all, being the best in your job and even in life greatly depends on your health (and in this case improve your sleep).
Author: Yoana Borisova
Sources:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/getting-better-sleep.htm
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This is a very meaningful post for me. Thank you.
Thank you 🙂