Have you been suffering from sleeplessness or toss and turn for hours before finally falling asleep? Here are a few tips to help you sleep well at night.
- Create and stick to a sleep schedule: This is particularly important, especially if dealing with sleeplessness. Creating a sleep schedule helps regulate the body’s internal clock, which again makes it easier to stay asleep through the night and wake up on time the next morning. Follow the schedule to the letter until your body gets used to it.
- Have a relaxing bedtime ritual: Avoid bringing the everyday stress, excitement, and anxiety to bed. One way to do this is to identify and practice bedtime rituals to help your body and mind calm down and relax. This can be anything from sipping some herbal tea, listening to relaxing music, or simply having a warm shower.
- Avoid afternoon naps: While a power nap in the afternoon may seem rejuvenating, it could also be the reason you cannot sleep well at night. That said, you need to avoid napping in the afternoon at all costs to improve your sleep quality when you need it.
- Get exercising: Regular exercise is good for your health and sleep. You thus might want to get moving for improved sleep quality.
- Create the perfect sleep environment: The bedroom environment can make or break your ability to sleep well. You thus need to go that extra step to ensure your bedroom is as comfortable and ‘sleep-friendly’ as possible. First, set bedroom temperature 5 degrees lower than other rooms, eliminate light and sound distractions, and avoid electronic devices from the bedroom. You might also want to invest in earplugs, blackout curtains, a humidifier, or a ‘white noise’ machine for even better results.
- Ensure the bed/mattress is comfortable enough: The ideal mattress should be comfortable and support your body weight. Mattresses generally have a life expectancy of about ten years, after which you will need to get a replacement. Read these Mlily mattress reviews and find the perfect mattress to help you get a great night’s sleep. You might also want to invest in comfortable pillows to keep your body as comfortable as possible. Make sure your ‘go-to’ bed is suitable for both you and your partner.
- Avoid heavy meals, cigarettes, and alcohol a few hours to bedtime: Having a heavy meal just before bedtime is known to affect a person’s ability to sleep well. Alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee contain stimulants that might make matters sleep even harder. Sleep experts thus recommend snacking and avoiding stimulants 3 hours to your bedtime.
- Learn to wind down: There are times when you’ll come home stressed and tired. Although the relaxing bedtime ritual may come in handy, you might want to try relaxing first. This can be in the form of eliminating electronic devices, especially those that produce blue-light (laptops, tablets, iPods, smartphones, etc.), or engage in calming activities such as reading a book or listening to soothing music.
- Only go to bed when sleepy/tired: Your bed should only be meant for sleep and romantic activities. That said, only go to bed when tired and sleepy, and get out of bed if tossing and turning for more than 20 minutes. Leave the sleep environment if possible, and only come back when weary.
- Use a sleep diary to record your sleep patterns: This is particularly recommended for individuals dealing with insomnia and sleeplessness. Recording your sleep patterns will help you plan your time and sleep better.