Sleep is essential for every living being. Each person requires at least 7-8 hours of sleep every day. Sleep is an integral bodily function, and regular, refreshing sleep goes a long way in maintaining good health. Poor sleep patterns cause mental agitations, hormonal disturbances, gastrointestinal derangements, psychological difficulties, and other life-hampering issues. With these six effective ways to sleep better, say goodbye to these sleep issues.
If you do not follow these ways to sleep better, it will disrupt your sleep pattern, causing insomnia. Insomnia is a sleep disorder or an inability to sleep. Insomnia is not only about the total time spent sleeping, but it is also about the quality of sleep. Sleep quality is hampered if a person gets up frequently at night, has a night of restless sleep, has difficulty falling asleep, etc.
7 Effective Ways To Sleep Better
1. Maintain Your Bio-cycle
There are many reasons for a person not getting sleep. The first and foremost reason is a shift in the bio-cycle. Our body requires some time to get used to every routine; if a person is used to sleeping at 8 pm every night, his brain starts thinking of sleep at the same time every day. In an IT profession, where shifts are changing, it is tough for that person to adapt to changing sleep timings.
2. Mental Status Matters
Depression and overthinking also lead to insomnia, causing irregular sleep patterns. Excess work also can be a reason for the difficulty in sleeping. Lack of activity for a person can also lead to insomnia. Take a break to relax from working non-stop. Keep your mood happy and calm. Therefore, keep yourself mentally healthy to sleep better.
3. Reduce Your Screen Time
Using gadgets constantly is another common reason for lack of sleep. We check our phones before going to bed, not to miss any important things or chats. But we forget about the most important thing, i.e., sleep. The waves and light of the phone screen do not allow us to fall asleep for a long time after putting the screens away from our eyes. Heavy meals some hours before sleep also hamper our sleep. Therefore, reducing screen time is one of the ways to sleep better.
4. Exercise Has An Effect Too
Heavy exercise before bedtime leads to a problem in sleeping. Because of the busy schedule, people have no time to exercise and go to the gym or for a walk, late hours in the evening, thinking they are doing well for their body and health. They forget that they are losing their health by not giving enough time for sleep.
Exercise releases a hormone called endorphin. This provides a euphoric effect. When you feel happy, your brain does not want to sleep, so you should avoid any exercise at least 1 hour before going to bed. Rather than exercising blindly, follow doing yoga to promote sleep.
5. Follow A Consistent Sleep Schedule
Being in bed for 6-8 hours does not mean you slept properly. Good quality of sleep is sleep in which you don’t wake often; you don’t get more dreams. If you feel fresh when you wake up or don’t feel like going to bed in the entire day, it means you slept well. Feeling sleepy at the same time you slept the previous day means you slept well. Therefore, follow a sleep schedule consistently.
6. Follow Healthy Lifestyle Changes
- There should be no exercise or work out for 1 hour before going to bed.
- No heavy meals 2 hours before going to bed.
- No drinking of excess fluids or water a few hours before going to bed may hamper your sleep, as you have to get up for urination.
- No keeping the lights and TV on while sleeping.
- Make sure that the area around the bed is clean and well ventilated.
- Girls during their menses should keep the habit of changing before bedtime. Cleanliness and hygiene are the best ways to sleep better.
- Never sleep in the clothes you are wearing the entire day. Always make it a habit to change clothes before going to bed.
- Wear loose-fitting and light-colored clothing at bedtime.
7. Body Aches And Sleep
Sometimes, body aches may be a reason for the difficulty in falling asleep. Lumbar rest helps to relieve body aches, which is just because of heavy work. This can be done in bed as well, 10 minutes before going to sleep.
Abdominal breathing is one of the perfect ways to sleep better. Sleeping in this position and doing abdominal breathing promotes sleep. This can also be done in bed just a few minutes before going to bed. Abdominal breathing is blowing the stomach like a balloon when you inhale (take air in through the nose) and releasing the balloon as you exhale (take the air out through the nose). This can be done 10 times before sleeping, on the bed with closed eyes.
Take home massage. Take care of your body.
Conclusion
Sleep disorder is nowadays pervasive in young people also. Falling asleep as soon as you get into bed and sleeping for at least 6 hours without waking up is a sign of a healthy person. Sleep, which is an essential part of our daily routine, has to be taken care of. Never keep yourself awake when feeling sleepy.
As we take care of our expensive belongings, we should take care of our bodies. We know our phone takes some time to charge. Accordingly, we plan when to charge the phone; the same has to be done with our bodies. We should plan our schedule accordingly, keeping in mind that at least 6 hours to be given for sleep. Lifestyle changes will help provide better quality and quantity of sleep. Both are equally important.
Read also: 6 Healthy Foods That Help You Sleep Better
