You toss and turn and just can’t get comfortable. You finally nod off only to find that just a few short minutes have passed. You are exhausted and irritable as you finally watch the sunrise, hardly having slept at all! Almost everyone has suffered a bad night’s sleep at some time in our lives. A restless night every now and then is fairly natural and is usually a result of something stressful taking place in our waking life, it’s not too serious, but the effects of long-term sleep deprivation can be very serious, placing our physical and mental health at risk! Chronic insomnia, which means the inability to have proper sleep, can lead to stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even Alzheimer’s disease! We need to have a good sleep, so here are some tips to help you rest easy!
A Restful Environment –
Make sure that your bedroom maintains the right temperature, a range between 16 °C and 18 °C is optimum for good sleep. It’s important that your bed offers the correct support, comfort, and space. Use a pillow of the right height and firmness to ensure you can sleep in the correct posture. Decorating with mild, pale colours, and having pleasant scents like lavender in the bedroom also help create a soothing setting for slumber. If you use a nightlight it should be dim and not shining directly on your eyes.
Time To Relax –
Don’t run around as fast as you can to accomplish a bunch of stuff right before bedtime, you need to ease into it, give your body and mind a chance to wind down and time to relax. Spend the hour before bed listening to mellow music while reading a good book. Take a hot bath and let your muscles relax. By the time you crawl between the sheets, you will be calm and halfway to a sound sleep already.
Ban Technology –
Your smartphone, computer, and TV set do not belong in your bedroom, and you should even avoid looking at them for at least an hour before bedtime because they emit a blue light that suppresses melatonin, the sleep hormone. When you go to bed it’s time to unplug!
Feed Your Sleepiness –
Healthy eating habits in general will be beneficial to your sleep, but some stand out as really great for inducing a good night’s rest. Foods like chicken, turkey, milk, and pumpkin seeds that contain the chemicals tryptophan and serotonin, which are needed for the production of sleep hormone melatonin, will help to put you, and keep you, asleep. Avoid eating a big meal and spicy food right before bedtime. Needless to say, don’t drink coffee or sugary soft drinks before bed unless you like tossing and turning!
Quality Over Quantity –
The usual focus is on how long we sleep, but the real test is the quality. Don’t drink a lot of liquids before bed because nighttime visits to the toilet will disturb your sleep cycles. Stay relaxed and let yourself drift off without watching the clock, even just a few hours of really sound sleep can go a long way toward feeling good when you wake up!
Have a good night!
*The information in this article does not necessarily reflect the views of The Global Hues. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information in this article.*
