Are you having a hard time falling asleep? Poor sleep and sleeping patterns have major negative effects on your body and brain in terms of productiveness and functionality. Poor sleep can also pose major health and psychological issues. A good night’s sleep is important because it helps you maintain a healthy body, mind and overall lifestyle.
Here are 3 major tips that will help you achieve better sleep
1. Create sleep inducing space
This is one of the most important tips to help you fall asleep quickly, comfortably and for longer. You need to make your bedroom space an area of relaxation and comfort. With all the modern design tips going around, many people actually overlook this obvious step. When designing your sleep environment, you need to focus on maximizing the space for comfort and minimizing any form of distractions.
You can do this by:
- Use high performance beddings. Good quality mattresses, pillows and sheets can make a difference when it comes to a comfortable, long sleep. Get a high quality long lasting mattress from mattress firm depending on your needs. This, along with good pillows will help you get proper support which is detrimental to your sleep hygiene.
- Get blankets and sheets that make your bed feel like an inviting space. Get a pair that maintains a comfortable temperature. Replace your regular curtains with blackout curtains to block excess light exposure and keep your circadian rhythm on track to prevent any rest interference.
- The temperature can also distract your sleep when it is too hot or too cold. Try regulating the temperature in your room to make it ideal for sleep. Introducing pleasant smells into your room can also help you fall sleep faster. Natural oils like lavender are very calming and can provide you with a fresh, soothing smell to help you ease into sleep.
2. Create a pre-bed routine
Regardless of whether you have a hard time to fall asleep, the hours leading to bed time play a crucial role in the quality and quantity of sleep you get. Creating a schedule and good habits play a role in helping you fall asleep fast and effortlessly.
Poor pre-bed habits can contribute greatly to sleep problems like insomnia. While developing these habits take a lot of time an effort, in the end it pays off through the quality and quantity of sleep you get.
You can optimize your sleep schedule by doing the following:
- Take 1 hour or 30 minutes to wind down. Try some low impact stretching, yoga, relaxation exercise, quiet reading or listening to soothing music to relax your body and mind.
- Also, avoid exposing yourself to too much light closer to your bed time to help you transition and also allow your body to produce melatonin for proper sleep regulation. This means you should avoid using phones, cell phones, TV’s and other electronics that have potential to keep your brain wired and prevent you from winding down and falling asleep.
3. Optimize your sleep schedule
This calls for individuals to take control of their daily sleep schedule. It is a good step to towards getting better sleep overall.
Here is how you can optimize your sleep schedule:
- Set up a fixed wake up and sleep time. It can be very difficult for your body to get a healthy sleep routine when you are constantly sleeping and waking up at different times every day. To avoid sleep issues, try picking a sleep and wake up time and sticking with it, even on the weekends.
- You also want to ensue you get the recommended 7- 9 hours of sleep every night. This can help you set up a pre-bed routine and manage your sleeping time properly as well as develop high quality and quantity of sleep overtime.
- Avoid taking day time naps. This is because they make it harder for you to sleep all the way through the night. If you take long naps during the day, you can throw off your sleep schedule and this could make it harder for you to fall asleep during the night. However, 20-minute naps when you are tired during the day have a low chance of messing with your sleep schedule.
Final word
While these three tips work to guarantee you better sleep, there are other internal and external factors that also contribute to the quality of sleep you can get. You also need to foster everyday habits during the day that can pave way for quality sleep during the night. This means watching what you eat, exercising and staying hydrated among other things.
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