How To Get A Good Night Of Sleep 

Sleep Deprivation and Health Issues

It’s very hard to function well during the day unless you’ve slept well the night before. At work, it’s hard to focus if you haven’t had enough sleep, and at home, it’s easy to get frustrated with your partner and kids if you’re exhausted. Of course, sometimes sleep deprivation effects are inevitable – when you have a new baby, for example – but the rest of the time there are often little things you can do to help yourself sleep better.

  • Control Your Light Exposure

When it’s dark, your brain secretes more melatonin, which is the hormone your body produces that makes you drowsy and regulates your sleeping patterns. When it’s light, less is excreted, meaning that you feel more alert. This means that you should try to spend time outside in daylight during the day and let as much natural light into your home as possible, and at night you should avoid bright screens 1-2 hours before you go to bed. Make sure your bedroom is dark – if you have a problem with light coming in, invest in custom solar shades to help keep your room dark and still at night.

  • Stick to a Sleep Schedule

If you let yourself sleep in and stay up late at weekends, you may be ruining your sleeping patterns. Even though it’s a good idea to catch up on sleep if you’ve had a particularly tiring week, consistency will reinforce your body’s sleep/wake cycle and make it easier for you to fall – and stay – asleep at night.

  • Practice a Bedtime Ritual

If you do the same things before bed every night, you’re telling your body that now is the time to be getting drowsy before falling asleep. Make sure you wind down before you get in bed – take a warm, comforting shower or bath with a fragrance like lavender to help to relax you.

Relaxation exercises like some light stretching or a wind-down yoga routine can help, as can a cup of warm tea (caffeine free!)  Read a few pages of your book before you go to sleep, and if you’re particularly busy, write a to-do list for the next day to push your tasks out of your mind for the time being.

  • Turn Your Bedroom Into a Relaxing Paradise

Invest in best quality bed sheets, blankets and pillows so your bed is comfortable. If your mattress hurts your back or leaves you feeling stiff in the morning, look into getting a memory foam pad to put on top of it. Neck, shoulder and back pain can be caused by a bad mattress or pillow and can affect your sleep along with your productivity during the day.

Keep electronic gadgets out of your room if possible – even the red numbers on a digital alarm clock might be affecting you, and keeping your phone on vibrate will disturb your sleep every time. Even the small red standby light on a TV set will affect you negatively.

Keep your bedroom as a space for sleep and sex only – if you work at home, try not to keep your desk in there. Keep your floors and surfaces uncluttered as a peaceful mind leads to a peaceful night’s sleep.

Thanks a lot for reading!

Klaudia

 across the web

• A sleep scientist reveals his 7 personal secrets to getting a good night’s rest
• Lack of Sleep Increases Risk of Metabolic Disorders
• Why you aren’t sleeping