Many people in the world are not getting enough sleep. This could be because they are chasing their dreams by working or studying late or they have a sleep disorder. Good sleep is as good as a healthy diet and consistent exercise. When you face sleep deprivation a lot is affected in your life, for instance, there is low productivity, fatigue, and poor brain function. It is good to have a consistent sleep pattern, and also check with your doctor if you are getting less or no sleep at all. If your suffering from insomnia, sleep apnea or sleep deprivation below are some ideas on how to have better sleep.
Buy a comfortable mattress
If you are having enough hours of sleep and still sleeping on a bad mattress, you will still wake up fatigued and yearning for more sleep. The quality of your mattress is the reason for your lack of relaxation. A good lucid mattress is all you need. This mattress has great benefits due to how it is designed with five layers. It helps enhance better sleep, reduces back pain and stiffness among many other benefits. If you have had your mattress for more than eight years, it is time to change it. Generally, your mattress, bed, and pillow are very important to the quality of sleep you get. If your bed is smaller, don’t settle for a standard single, look into a king single mattress.
Improve bedroom conditions
The atmosphere in the bedroom is very important when it comes to getting better sleep. Some of the areas to check that may need some improvement are lighting, temperature, noise among others. When there is reduced noise and lighting in the bedroom the quality of sleep is higher compared to those who live next to traffic or passing train noises. Assuming some of these conditions can lead to long term health conditions. The bedroom temperature just like the body temperature are also factors to consider for improved sleep. Although people are different when it comes to their temperature preferences. A temperature around 20° Celsius is best for most people.
Check your sleep patterns
Depending on the routine that you have or not, it may influence your sleep patterns. This may be good or bad considering the situation. For instance, irregular daytime naps will affect your sleep negatively. Although short naps are great to boost your productivity levels. It is important to have them consistently at a specific time to enjoy the results. Although people are different on how naps hinder or improve their sleep. It is important to follow through with what works for you. Additionally, waking up and sleeping at the same time is very important to create a regular sleep pattern. This will improve your sleep quality and maintain your levels of melatonin and circadian rhythm that signal your brain to sleep.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine
Do you love having a bottle or two of alcohol after dinner? If yes, it messes with your sleep patterns and hormones and causes snoring. Alcohol messes up the production of melatonin which hinders quality sleep. Caffeine is another drink with negative effects on your sleep plan. However, caffeine is known to have great benefits in other areas, such as energy boost, focus, and sports performance. As a matter of fact, that’s why it stimulates your nervous system to the hyper mode and your body is unable to relax at night. A study showed caffeine stays in your system for 7-8 hours, hence when taken in the afternoon in large quantities it affects your sleep significantly at night.
Consider light exposure at night and during the day
The circadian rhythm is an internal clock that is controlled by many factors including light. It then controls your body, hormones, and brain by telling your body when to sleep and wake up. Therefore, increased bright light exposure during the day helps keep your circadian rhythm healthy and respond to your body to better sleep at night. Hence enough sunlight exposure during the day will help solve many of your sleep issues. Blue light exposure at night has the opposite result. This is because it signals the circadian rhythm to respond to your brain that it is still day time. This blue light is found in our laptops, smartphones and other devices.
Take supplements
If you have tried all the natural methods to aid better sleep. Taking some melatonin supplements will aid sleep fast. These supplements are mainly taken by people suffering from insomnia and those who travel consistently to different time zones. It also has no withdrawal effects and is a safe supplement to consume. There are other supplements that are as good as the melatonin supplement. For instance, Ginkgo helps in sleep, stress reduction and relaxation. The valerian root and lavender are also good herbs that induce a calming and sedentary effect to sleep. Hibiscus tea is also a great choice when drank at night for relaxation and better sleep.
Regular Exercise
According to scientific research, exercise is good for your health and quality sleep. Although it is not advisable to exercise right before bedtime. This is because exercise is attributed to improving alertness through adrenaline hormones. However, some people are not affected by these effects and still sleep better. Study shows those who exercise regularly have reduced insomnia symptoms, by almost 70%. In fact, it has been proved that exercise in itself is a natural drug with more advantages than other common drugs. Have a routine of how you exercise during the day when there is adequate sunlight for a good night’s sleep.
There are many other ways that have been proven to boost better sleep. Some work for others while some don’t. However, trying some of this to enhance your sleep is important even to those with no sleep issues. Eating late at night is also known to lower sleep quality or if you have to it should be a low carb diet which has worked for most people. Also, trying different relaxation techniques has helped sleep better. Some of these techniques are massages, listening to music, reading a book and meditation.