Many of us are deprived of sleep. If you are not aware, this is a major public health issue as defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The problem of insufficient sleep is common in many people and mostly, it has been as a result of something that you can address.
Most of the sleepless nights can be done away with if we commit ourselves to prepare for good sleep during the night. Here are 7 ways to improve your sleep quality.
Don’t take caffeine some hours to sleep time:
You will have to choose between sleep and caffeine. Reduce your caffeine intake if you want to catch some good sleep at night. In some cases, some people are forced to eliminate it completely from their diet. If you don’t want to do this, make sure you don’t take it within 4-6 hours before bedtime. Until caffeine is eliminated in your body, you will find difficulties to sleep.
Avoid Heavy Meals:
A heavy meal before sleeping is not only bad for your health but also affects your ability to sleep well. Therefore, eat lightly. Most importantly, it is not just about eating alone. Choose what to eat because some foods may present more challenges to sleep patterns than others. Ideally, avoid such foods as would cause stomach issues. Anything that is fatty, fried or spicy will hamper your sleep.
Reserve you’re Bedroom for Sleep only:
Let your bed room serve as your space for relaxation, sex and sleep only. Don’t bring along other distractions such as work assignments or a place to pay your bills. Invest in a good mattress and use it well especially if it is an air mattress. Here is more information about Air mattresses if that is what you will be sleeping on.
You will also need blackout curtains to prevent light coming through the outdoors. A calm blue paint for the walls will also make the bedroom a sleep haven for you. Pets especially, are a huge distraction to your sleep and therefore, you should keep them off your bed.
Read Something:
Bed time stories are common especially for children before sleeping. Sadly, we often forget this habit as we grow up. It is as useful as it was when you were young. Therefore, carry on this habit even to your adult age.
Reading prior to going to bed has many benefits and top in the list is your ability to sleep well. Reading induces sprucing imagination and also helps you to clear off your imagination, have a more restful sleep hence enhancing the quality of your sleep.
Daily Exercises:
Doing workouts is of great value to your sleep needs. This is one of the many ways to enhance sleep quality. With exercises, you can fall asleep without much problems and at the same time improve the quality of your sleep.
The National Sleep Foundation found out medium to vigorous workouts of about two and a half hours per week can help you get sleep quickly. Moreover, it helps in improving the quality of your sleep. However, do not work out very late in the day because this can be a counterproductive effort. Remember that you will require sufficient time to wind down prior to going to bed.
Develop a Sleep Schedule:
One of the ways to deal with your sleep problems is by keeping a sleep schedule. This should basically direct you to go to bed at a certain time and wake up at an already preset time on a daily basis. If you are not comfortable doing this initially, you can begin with a predetermined wakeup time.
This, you will develop the discipline of waking up at almost the same time each morning regardless of whether it is a weekday or a weekend. Knowing that you are required to wake up at a certain time, you will gradually develop a habit of going to bed earlier. In the end, you will have created enough hours of sleep as needed by your body.
Keep off gadgets:
Put away your gadgets such as your phone, tablet and so on. If you have to read something prior to getting some sleep, let it not be from a light emitting e-reader such as a tablet or a Smartphone. Well, all light slows down melatonin production, which is the hormone that helps you to sleep.
However, blue light emanating from screens has the greatest potential of hampering melatonin production. These are some of the many ways to improve your sleep quality. Try them today if you have a problem with your sleep.
