Healthy sleep habits contribute to restful slumber instead of you spending a restless night. A sleep center helps you identify practices that maximize your sleeping hours even when jet-lagged or working in late shifts. You can only face the next day energetically and be more productive when you sleep well.
Lack of sleep adversely impacts your mental and physical wellbeing. By sticking to a recommended daily routine, you can control the quality of sleep you get at night. Adopting healthy practices to achieve better sleep is rewarding. It boosts your immune system, heart health, creativity, and keeps your weight in check.
Achieve Better Sleep
Stress, whether professional or personal, and unexpected illnesses can interfere with your sleep pattern. If you’re having any sleep-related disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, snoring, etc., consider visiting a sleep center immediately. The doctors can diagnose your disorder and recommend medications and treatments to ensure you’re able to sleep without any disturbances or discomfort.
In addition, the listed five guidelines will contribute to you achieving quality sleep each time your head hits the bed:
Adhere to a Sleep Schedule
Eight hours of sleep at night is adequate for a healthy adult. Getting up and going to bed at the same time consistently each day reinforces your body’s natural sleep cycle.
Aim to limit the difference in your sleep schedule over the weeknights and weekends. If your afternoon power nap exceeds half an hour, it may disrupt your sleep by night.
Create a Restful Environment
Cool, quiet, and dark rooms induce sleep faster than a noisy and cluttered space. You can mask external noise contributors by switching on your fan or wearing earplugs.
The quality of your mattress, pillow, and cover contribute to the comfort factor of your bed. When you experience discomfort while sleeping, you invariably wake up with an aching neck or sore back.
Eat and Drink Responsibly
Tucking yourself in on a full stomach or soon after you consume alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine, interferes with your sleep. Failing to digest your food and the stimulating effects of addictive substances can keep you awake for hours.
Instead, eating healthy, avoiding a heavy meal before bedtime, and catering for adequate digestion time helps you fall asleep faster and enjoy a long sleep. Try to avoid smoking or drinking caffeine right before you go to bed to ensure you have a long, restful sleep.
Remain Physically Active
A healthy dose of exercise and physical activity during the daytime will automatically tire you out by night. Adequate exercise also activates your metabolism, stimulates hormones like cortisol, and elevates your body temperature. If you have a gym membership, remember not to go to bed immediately after a workout. A minimum gap of three hours is recommended to promote better sleep.
Control Light Exposure
Looking at your phone’s screen before sleeping will keep you alert and restless while in bed. Exposure to natural light by day is healthy but at night, blocking all light helps induce sleep faster. If you are in the habit of using a night lamp, make sure it is a dim one.
It must be remembered that these measures can only help induce sleep under normal circumstances. Those with complicated sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, insomnia, etc., must-visit sleep centers and consult with professional sleep doctors for the best guidance on treating them.
