It can be incredibly difficult to get a good night’s sleep. However, getting the right amount of sleep is very important for long-term health. What are some steps you can take to getting better sleep and feeling well-rested? Today we’re going to try to help.
Getting Better Sleep
Diet
Firstly, a key to getting the right amount of rest is making sure your diet isn’t playing a role in keeping you up. Namely, caffeine is a huge factor in sleep disruption. Are you drinking coffee, energy drinks or sugary sodas near bedtime? You should discontinue intake of caffeine at least eight hours before it’s time to go to bed.
Secondly, try to cut out caffeine altogether. If you’re using caffeine to help wake up in the morning, you could be damaging your natural circadian rhythm. Your body should naturally wake you up when it’s time, and by using artificial stimulants you could be teaching your body not to do this. Try not to rely on outside stimulants.
Lifestyle
When you lay down for bed, maybe your mind is racing and you can’t turn your brain off. You could be under-stimulated physically, and your restlessness could be your body telling you that. If you don’t exercise, consider adopting an exercise routine. Get out and run for half an hour each day. Do a few pushups, sit-ups and squats before bed.
Remember, it’s way easier to get to sleep if your body is physically tired. If you’ve been sitting at a desk drinking cold brew coffees all day, it’s no wonder you’re laying down with boundless energy and finding it hard to catch some sleep.
Environment
Is the room you’re trying to fall asleep in not in the right condition to support good sleep? You should ideally turn off your TV and put your phone far away from where you sleep. Laying in bed scrolling through social media is not a substitute for sleep. In fact, the light from your phone alone could be tricking your brain into staying awake longer.
The blue light produced by LCD screens mimics that of the sun. Activating “night mode” on some phones can partially help, as it filters out the blue light when the sun goes down. However, no “night mode” features will help you get to sleep if you’re constantly scrolling instead of trying to catch some shut-eye.