7 Steps To A Better Sleep
By Christina Fenske
There are many factors that can disrupt your sleep routine and keep you from having a good quality of sleep. Some of things vary from work stressors, family conflicts, illness, or other life challenges. It makes sense that a good quality of sleep may escape you if your under any kind of stress.
It can be difficult to have control over some life’s circumstances that can interfere with our quality of sleep, but if you implement some healthy sleep habits you may see some improvement. We’ve included 7 Steps To A Better Sleep.
1. Keep to a strict sleep schedule
We recommend a set amount of time for sleep which you’ve probably heard before. Eight hours is a good amount, this may vary from one person to the next though depending on your age, activity, health; etc. so please keep this in mind. The majority of people don’t require more than eight hours per night to achieve a decent nights sleep.
When you got to bed, make sure you get up the same time every day and go to bed the same time every evening. Do your best to eliminate the difference between your sleep schedule during the weekdays and weekends by no more than an hour. It’s essential to be consistent with your sleep-wake cycle or you will find it challenging to feel rested.
Keep your bedroom for sleeping only (or sex), and if you should have difficulty sleeping after about 20-minutes leave your bedroom and go do something that relaxes you. This can be reading a good book, listening to calming music, or meditating. Once you start to feel sleepy again, go back to bed and try to sleep again. You may need to repeat this if you don’t fall asleep right away.
2. Identify anything that you may eat or drink that can keep you awake
Don’t go to bed hungry or stuffed. In particular, avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Your discomfort might keep you up.
Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and can wreak havoc on quality sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it can disrupt sleep later in the night.
3. Create a restful environment
Create a room that’s ideal for sleeping. Often, this means cool, dark and quiet. Exposure to light might make it more challenging to fall asleep. Avoid prolonged use of light-emitting screens just before bedtime. Consider using room-darkening shades, earplugs, a fan or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.
Doing calming activities before bedtime, such as taking a bath or using relaxation techniques, might promote better sleep.
4. Limit daytime naps
Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep. If you choose to nap, limit yourself to up to 30 minutes and avoid doing so late in the day.
If you work nights, however, you might need to nap late in the day before work to help make up your sleep debt.
5. Include physical activity in your daily routine
Regular physical activity can promote better sleep. Avoid being active too close to bedtime, however.
Spending time outside every day might be helpful, too.
6. Cope with your worries
Try to resolve your worries or concerns before bedtime. Jot down what’s on your mind and then set it aside for tomorrow.
Stress management might help. Start with the basics, such as getting organized, setting priorities and delegating tasks. Meditation also can ease anxiety.
7. Control intrusive thoughts
Whatever is in the way of sleeping if it’s intrusive thoughts or planning or anticipating or rehearsing. Try to work on letting go of any thoughts even if you convince yourself that you have the cure for cancer. And set aside some time to relax before bed. Dump everything from your head onto some paper to let go of the ideas.
Contact your doctor
Nearly everyone has an occasional sleepless night — but if you often have trouble sleeping, contact your doctor. Identifying and treating any underlying causes can help you get the better sleep you deserve.
