Good quality sleep is crucial for health. It helps your body recover physically and mentally from all the stresses it endures throughout the day. Nothing beats the feeling of waking up after a good night's sleep. It makes you feel refreshed and ready to conquer the day. The opposite happens when you haven't slept well the night before. You feel exhausted even before the day begins!
Getting a good night's sleep of about eight hours and maintaining the same sleeping routine every single day has many health benefits. It prevents you from developing diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression and also helps keep you refreshed and charged throughout the day.
Why Is Sleep Important?
Sleep is vital as this is when the control center of the body, the brain, is most active and is working to ensure everything is in check. It ensures that all its organs and cells perform at their optimum level. This serves three essential functions:
Boosts immunity and reduces the risk of disease.
It helps us manage our emotions better. Lack of sleep can make us cranky and irritable, experience mood swings, and may end up saying and doing things we regret later.
Sleeping better helps prevent obesity. Sleep-deprived people have enormous appetites and tend to eat more and gain more weight which is unhealthy for them.
The Importance Of Sleeping In The Dark
Sleep during nighttime is optimum as this helps align our body's circadian rhythm with the environment. Studies show that the correct circadian rhythm is vital to ensure the best quality of sleep. This is because darkness induces a sleep hormone called melatonin that helps with sleep. It is a light-sensitive hormone, and in the presence of daylight or artificial light, the release of this hormone is delayed resulting in more exhaustion and lack of energy.
Stick To A Regular Sleep Routine
Your body needs rest and routine. You must try to go to bed and wake up simultaneously every day. Doing this reinforces your body's sleep-wake cycle. An average healthy adult requires no more than eight hours of sleep to replenish himself and wake up refreshed the next day
Do Not Get Into Bed Immediately After A Meal
Try eating your dinner early, at least three hours before it is time for bed. This is to allow time for your body to undergo digestion so that it does not disrupt your sleep. Lying down immediately after a meal can cause stomach acids to spill into the esophagus causing GERD symptoms and acidity. You should ideally wait two hours before getting into bed after having dinner. In case you get hungry before bedtime, eating a light snack or drinking a glass of milk is recommended to avoid feeling too full and suffering from indigestion just before bedtime.
Exercise Everyday
If you have trouble sleeping, it is a good idea to start doing some physical exercise. You may take a walk around your block or use the treadmill for a few minutes just to tire yourself out to help you fall asleep. It is also a good idea to indulge in any exercise or sport of your preference during the day to help tire you out. When the body is tired, it will want to rest. This is a very effective method to help you fall asleep.
Do Not Use Screens
Melatonin is a hormone released in our body that triggers sleep. It is the body's natural way of telling itself to wind down and go to sleep. Melatonin release is delayed in the presence of bright lights, such as those that come out of screens. This is because the body is confused by light and thinks that it's daytime and tries to keep you alert and awake. Our body's circadian rhythm associates darkness with a calming gown and resting and brightness and daylight with alertness. As the day ends, our body prepares itself to unwind and relax so that it can get ready for the next day. People who continue to use their phones, iPads, or televisions just before bedtime because they can't sleep should know that this practice is counter-productive to their goal of falling asleep.
Avoid using screens just before bedtime and let your mind and body relax. You must allow your brain to switch off and relax. To do that, there should be no triggers or distractions in the form of smart devices and screens.
Create A Comfortable Environment In Your Bedroom
Your bedroom should be your sanctuary. The sight of your bedroom should immediately make your worries and stresses go away and welcome you to a land of comfort and tranquility. It should be a place that you can retreat to at the end of the day for the purpose of relaxing, peace, quiet, and rest so that you can wake up the next morning feeling energized and refreshed.
It should not be messy or cluttered
It should ideally not have a TV or be noisy
It should be the perfect temperature
It should be dark
It should be comfortable
Sleep On A Comfortable Bed
Where you sleep plays a significant role in the quality of your sleep. The size of your bed, the quality of your mattress, and the type of pillow you sleep on are all important factors that contribute to how well you sleep at night. You must ensure that you sleep on a comfortable bed that is large enough, with a mattress that is optimum for sleep and a pillow that is neither too high nor too soft.
Invest In A Good Quality Mattress
A poor-quality mattress results in poor quality of sleep. Many people don't realize this, but they may suffer from back and shoulder pain and irregular sleep patterns due to sleeping on an incorrect mattress. It would help if you looked for the following qualities in a mattress:
It should be firm to support the correct alignment of your spine
It should be the right size for you
The texture and material of the mattress matter depending on the type that you prefer
Innerspring mattresses don't last too long and need to be replaced sooner, so it is better to choose a mattress that has greater longevity
The price of the mattress should fit your budget and not be unreasonably overpriced.
FlexiSpot has the best ergonomic mattress options for optimum sleep and is highly recommended for those struggling with sleeping at night. It helps those with joint and back pain and makes them wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.
Take A Warm Bath Before Bedtime
Warm baths have a calming and soothing effect. They help to relax sore muscles and have a calming effect on the mind and body. Aromatherapy with lavender and chamomile essential oils helps the mind and body relax, triggering melatonin and helping to fall asleep faster. You may use these oils as bath soaks, light candles, or in diffusers while taking a bath.
Taking a bath reduces the body's core temperature by a few degrees, which also helps bring on sleep faster. As we fall asleep, our body temperature drops by 0.5-1 degree Fahrenheit.
Limit Your Naptime
If you have trouble falling asleep at night, then you must try not to nap during the day. If you need to nap, try to limit it to no more than 20 minutes. Naps during the day should not hinder nighttime sleep.
Manage Stress And Worries
Most people have insomnia as they enter more serious stages in their lives. Stress and anxiety that universities bring about in choosing careers, finding and maintaining jobs, switching careers, relationship troubles, marriage, and the stress of raising kids. It could be general or sometimes a little bit more deep-rooted.
Try meditation just before sleep. Encourage your mind to be free from all thoughts. Listen to relaxing music and practice deep breathing exercises.
Make a list of all the tasks you have planned for the next day, and try to organize yourself. Sometimes the next day's stress keeps us up all night and ruins the next day for us as well.
If you feel that none of the methods mentioned above helped you with falling asleep, then it might be a good idea to consult with a doctor. People who are suffering from anxiety and depression need professional help in the form of therapy and medication.
The Final Word
Waking up feeling tired and exhausted is the worst feeling and makes the rest of your day feel like a difficult chore. You are unable to focus at work, often unable to eat, irritable and fussy, and cannot do anything right. You cannot stop thinking about going back to bed to get some sleep. It helps to sleep on a good quality mattress so that you don't have insomnia due to an uncomfortable mattress. FlexiSpot has some great mattress options that you can order on their website to enhance your sleep experience.
