Tips For Betยญter Sleep HygieneHave you ever found yourยญself tossยญing and turnยญing in the midยญdle of the night? Youโre exhaustยญed, but someยญhow you just canโt drop off? If so, youโre not alone.Milยญlions of peoยญple all over the globe strugยญgle to fall asleep and get a sound sleep. If this hapยญpens to you more freยญquentยญly than youโd like, you need to learn about sleep hygiene.What it is, how to achieve it, and what can help you get a solยญid nightโs rest. Good sleep hygiene enables you to get a conยญsisยญtentยญly good nightโs sleep, which is someยญthing we all need for physยญiยญcal and emoยญtionยญal good health. In this post, we do a deep dive into sleep hygiene โ what is it, and how it helps you achieve a good nightโs sleep. It starts with a relaxยญing rouยญtine before you climb into bed and ends with a comยญfortยญable, cool matยญtress that allows you to rest at the right temยญperยญaยญture. What else comยญprisยญes a restยญful night? Read on!
A Definition Of Sleep Hygiene:
This term includes sevยญerยญal facยญtors, but in essence, it refers to healthy sleep habits. For examยญple: going to bed after eatยญing a large meal is defยญiยญniteยญly not a good sleep habit!Pracยญtisยญing good sleep habits is vital for your menยญtal, emoยญtionยญal and physยญiยญcal health. And it is as much about preparยญing for sleep as it is about sleep itself.
Here Are Some Tips For Prepping Yourself For a Restful, Sound Sleep:
1- Establish a Set Bedtime Routine
We know that someยญtimes life gets in the way of this. For examยญple, one night, you have a proยญfesยญsionยญal engageยญment you must attend that you know it will run late and keep you out until midยญnight. Howยญevยญer, itโs cruยญcial that you set up a rouยญtine before bed and donโt waivยญer, apart from unavoidยญable events like that. That includes going to bed at the same time each night, whenยญevยญer itโs posยญsiยญble. Many studยญies show that the sleep you get before midยญnight is the deepยญest and most restoraยญtive. If necยญesยญsary, head to bed at 10 or 11, but no later.
2- Turn Off Your Devices Well In Advance
This is a big ask, we know, parยญticยญuยญlarยญly if youโre one of those peoยญple who takes their lapยญtop to bed and answers email just before you turn out the light. But this is a habit youโve got to break! No screens for at least one hour before bedยญtime are ideยญal for allowยญing your brain to wind down and relax. Furยญtherยญmore, the blue light emitยญted from phones and othยญer devices can wake you momenยญtarยญiยญly durยญing the night, interยญruptยญing your sleep and wreakยญing havยญoc with your slumber.Instead of takยญing your device to bed to catch up on work, get in bed with a book or magยญaยญzine. We guarยญanยญtee youโll have a more comยญplete, more restยญful sleep.
3- Cut Back On Caffeine During The Day
If you sip on cofยญfee or tea throughยญout your day at the office, try cutยญting your conยญsumpยญtion in half to begin with, and refrain from cafยญfeine use for a minยญiยญmum of 6 hours priยญor to bedยญtime. Too much fluยญid can make you need to get up in the night to use the bathยญroom, thereยญby interยญruptยญing your sleep. But also, cutยญting your cafยญfeine intake will make you less jitยญtery and anxยญious. That means itโll be easยญiยญer to relax in the evening, right up until you turn out the light.
4- Create a Soothing Environment In Which To Sleep
As any inteยญriยญor decยญoยญraยญtor will tell you, soft colours are best for bedยญrooms, like dove grey, taupe or off white. Bold colours are fine in othยญer rooms where lots of activยญiยญty takes place, but your bedยญroom should be decยญoยญratยญed like a retreat, a refuge. The softยญer the palette the less stimยญuยญlatยญing, and thatโs what you want and need in your sleep environment.
5- Have a Warm Bath, Then Meditate
Doing deep breathยญing exerยญcisยญes is incredยญiยญbly relaxยญing before bed, and it takes only 10 minยญutes or so. Conยญcenยญtrate on letยญting your shoulยญders relax, then inhale deeply, exhale comยญpleteยญly, and repeat this cycle for at least eight breaths.When we get nerยญvous or excitยญed, our breathยญing becomes shalยญlow โ thatโs what youโre comยญbatยญing in this exerยญcise. Sit on the edge of your bed, close your eyes and โฆ youโll feel more relaxed before you know it!
6- Turn Down The Thermostat
Sleep experts agree that your room should be cool, approxยญiยญmateยญly 60 โ 67 degrees (F) or 15 โ 18 ยฉ. That is the ideยญal temยญperยญaยญture for a body at rest. Howยญevยญer, some peopleโs โinterยญnal furยญnaceโ runs hot.Thatโs when you should conยญsidยญer purยญchasยญing a Coolยญing matยญtress topยญper. These lie under the sheets but on top of your matยญtress, and they work wonยญders coolยญing you down, so you get the best rest posยญsiยญble.Choosยญing to purยญchase a matยญtress topยญper is anothยญer excelยญlent tool in your good nightโs rest kit.
7- Lots Of Fresh Air & Exercise
When the spring comes, and the weathยญer turns mild, many peoยญple say that getยญting outยญside for exerยญcise seems to help them sleep betยญter. Sciยญence says theyโre right!Going for a hike, prepยญping the garยญden for new plants and flowยญers, the more time you spend outยญside fills you with oxyยญgen and gets your blood flowing.This kind of exerยญcise is more benยญeยญfiยญcial than the indoor workยญouts we resort to in mid-winยญter when we have no choice but to stay inside. Of course, any exerยญcise is betยญter than none, but the activยญiยญty you do outยญdoors is defยญiยญniteยญly the best. Whether itโs digยญging in the vegยญetable garยญden or hikยญing in a conยญserยญvaยญtion area, breathยญing fresh air and workยญing your body outยญside is a great way to ensure betยญter qualยญiยญty sleep.Pour your cofยญfee into a portable mug and head out for a walk in a nearยญby park. Come bedยญtime; youโll feel more ready for sleep because youโll be physยญiยญcalยญly tired.
8- Is It Time For a New Bed?
If you havenโt replaced your bed in more than a decade, itโs time to go shopยญping! Even the best matยญtress canโt stand up to years of bodyยญweight tossยญing and turnยญing for eight hours each night.If there are two of you, conยญsidยญer that the matยญtress is workยญing to accomยญmoยญdate sevยญerยญal hunยญdreds of pounds. Even if you donโt toss and turn, the matยญtress will begin to sag after eight or 10 years. You need a matยญtress that supยญports your spine.When you do purยญchase a new one, be sure to try them out first before buyยญing โ whatโs comยญfortยญable when youโre 40 may not be comยญfortยญable when youโre 50. It should be firm, and capaยญble of supยญportยญing your weight and your spouseโs, for years.
9- Only Use Your Bed For Sleep
Please donโt take your files or lapยญtop into bed with you, thinkยญing that propยญping yourยญself up against your headยญboard will let you finยญish up a few tasks before bed.If you must take care of some last-minute work, do it at the dinยญing room table or in your home office. Or if you have the space, creยญate a cozy corยญner in your bedยญroom with a comยญfortยญable chair and a good light overยญhead. Finยญish any work that needs doing there, rather than takยญing it into bed, or betยญter yet, curl up with a good novel.
10- Resist The Urge To Nap
Plenยญty of studยญies supยญport this theยญoยญry: napยญping actuยญalยญly makes it hardยญer to fall asleep at night. Some peoยญple argue that they just canโt get through their day withยญout a quick bit of shutยญeye, but napยญping is actuยญalยญly counterproductive.If youโre one of the milยญlions of peoยญple who stretch out for 40 winks in the midยญdle of the day, experยญiยญment with resistยญing this impulse. Go for three or four days withยญout napยญping. Weโll bet youโll find the qualยญiยญty of your nightยญtime sleep improves enorยญmousยญly. If you truยญly canโt stop napยญping, make it 15 minยญutes rather than 40 โ even this reducยญtion may help you get through the night more soundly.
11- Donโt Snack Late At Night
Itโs tough to pass on the potaยญto chips when the famยญiยญly is watchยญing an evening movie on Netยญflix. Howยญevยญer, if you want to estabยญlish good sleep habits, try to resist!Eatยญing in the evening forces your body into digesยญtion mode, which may keep you wide awake. Itโs betยญter to go to bed a bit hunยญgry and be ready for a good breakยญfast the folยญlowยญing day.
Wrapping Up
Creยญatยญing good sleep habits โ sleep hygiene, as sciยญenยญtists call it โ is the corยญrect route for improvยญing the qualยญiยญty and length of your nightยญtime rest.Everyยญone has the occaยญsionยญal fitยญful night durยญing which they just canโt seem to fall asleep. If that hapยญpens, get out of bed, go read for an hour and rememยญber: the odd night of lost sleep is not the end of the world.Howยญevยญer, getยญting solยญid sleep is vital for physยญiยญcal and emoยญtionยญal health. Try one, two or even all our sugยญgesยญtions, and we think that before you know it, youโll be regยญuยญlarยญly sleepยญing through the night. Each mornยญing youโll awake feelยญing refreshed and reinยญvigยญoยญratยญed, ready to tackยญle whatยญevยญer chalยญlenges the world throws your way.
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