Tips For Great Sleep

Tips For Great Sleep

1. Create a Much More Relaxing Environment In Your Bedroom

One of the top things you should be doing is creating a much more relaxed environment in your bedroom. Have you ever been so exhausted that you didn’t want to do anything but lay down, but you still couldn’t get to sleep? If so, it’s likely a direct result of having a poorly optimized bedroom environment. You want to have a soothing space that is conducive to quality sleep. This means creating an environment that is going to allow you to not only get to sleep quickly but to stay asleep too. Read these informative reviews for Kingsdown.

1. Shut Off The Lights

One of the first things you should look to do is turn off all of the lights. You want to get rid of any light in your bedroom at night. Exposure to lights can disrupt your body’s internal clock. You want to avoid all lights at night because it can disrupt the quality of your sleep. A good way to get rid of lights is by wearing a sleep mask. A sleep mask can block lights from disrupting you while sleeping. You can also install blackout blinds or curtains. This can help to minimize the amount of light that creeps into your bedroom at night and in the morning.

2. Tune Out The Noise

Another thing that you need to be doing is getting rid of any noise disruptions. It’s not uncommon to have sounds leaking in from outside especially if you are in a noisy city environment. If so, you’re going to want to try to figure out ways to block it. You can do this by installing sound-dampening curtains. That’s not viable for everyone. If you can’t do that, you could opt for using earplugs or even headphones at night. You could also consider using a portable speaker and playing some white noise when you are trying to get to sleep. A fan could also work if you want to drown out some of the noises that could be keeping you awake.

3. Keep It Cool

This one is very important if you want to make your bedroom conducive to quality sleep. The temperature of your bedroom can play a crucial role in how easy it is for you to fall asleep. There is plenty of research that supports the idea that sleeping in a cooler room is better for your sleep. Not only is it better for the quality of your sleep, but it can help make you fall asleep quicker too. That’s because your body preps itself for sleep by dropping the internal temperature. Thus, putting yourself in a cooler environment, makes it easier to fall asleep. 

4. Get Comfortable

Getting comfortable is one of the ways to ensure that you can fall asleep and stay asleep. Because of the amount of time you are going to be spending in your bed, it’s a good idea to invest in quality bedding materials. This includes a comfortable mattress, breathable sheets, and a soft pillow. Try to make upgrades in these areas if your current bedding situation lacks comfort. You want to make yourself as comfortable as possible because it’s going to make it easier to get a quality night of sleep. There was a study that showed that getting a new mattress improved sleep quality by as much as 60 percent. You also want to replace your bedding every few years or so.

5. Maintain A Sleep Schedule

Your body runs on an internal clock. You want to ensure that you are going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. This is one of the best ways to have yourself fall asleep with ease at night. You want to maintain an optimized internal clock which is also known as your ‘circadian rhythm.’ 

There have been studies that have shown that maintaining irregular sleep cycles can negatively impact your melatonin production. Melatonin production is essential to getting quality sleep because it’s your sleep hormone. It’s the hormone that gets released that triggers bedtime. Without getting sufficient melatonin release at night, you’ll find it very difficult to get to sleep. You want to maintain the same schedule every night so your body/brain knows when it’s time to start pumping out melatonin. 

However, maintaining a sleep schedule isn’t as easy for everyone. Here are some of the best tips for maintaining one successfully:

– Set a Fixed Bedtime and Wakeup Time

You need to stick to the same schedule whether it’s a weekday or weekend. You want to get into the habit of waking up at the same time every day and going to sleep at the same time every night. Don’t try to make up sleep.

– Allocate Sufficient Time For Sleep

You need to be giving yourself a good 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. You need to be allocating sufficient time for sleep because the average adult needs around 7 to 9 hours of sleep. You don’t want to alter your sleeping habits on the weekends as it can disrupt your internal clock. 

– Adjust Your Sleep Schedule Gradually

If you need to make adjustments to your sleep schedule for any reason, try to do it gradually. You want to make subtle adjustments rather than significant ones. This can ensure that your body gradually adapts to the changes.

6. Increase The Bright Light Exposure In The Morning

As mentioned previously, your body runs on an internal clock. You can help to sync everything up by exposing yourself to light when you wake up. If you get outside and exposure yourself to natural sunlight when you wake up, it signals your brain to stop producing sleep hormones. This can help you align your circadian rhythm properly for easier sleep at night. There has been plenty of research that has shown that exposure to light in the early morning can help you fall asleep easier at night. It can also help the quality of your sleep.

A single study showed that 2 hours of bright light exposure in the morning ended up increasing sleep by as much as 2 hours. There was another study that showed that exposure to light in the morning ended up resulting in lower levels of stress and better overall quality of sleep. It’s always best to get your exposure to light from natural sources. However, artificial sources can also help.

7. Reduce Exposure To Blue Light At Night

When you are prepping for better sleep, you are going to want to ensure that you aren’t getting overexposed to blue light at night. Exposure to blue light can simulate daylight. This can disrupt your internal clock. After all, your body and mind start to associate blue light with daytime. This results in melatonin production slowing down. There have been numerous studies that have shown that exposure to blue light at night can be the most disruptive type of light which can make it very difficult to fall asleep. The good news is there are ways to minimize your exposure to it at night. 

Here are some tips to reduce blue light exposure: 

– Avoid Watching TV

You want to try to avoid watching television too late at night. 

– Use Apps

One of the things you can do if you are going to be using your computer or a screen at night is to enable the blue light filter. A lot of devices will have these built in. If it doesn’t, you can either download a third-party application and enable it or wear blue light-blocking glasses to get the same result.

8. Avoid Caffeine

You’ll want to avoid drinking any caffeine later on in the day. While you can get your morning cup of coffee in, you want to avoid drinking caffeine a minimum of 6 hours before bedtime. Try to avoid taking any caffeine past noon. This includes things that you may not know has caffeine in them like chocolate. Caffeine is a stimulant and when it gets into your system too late in the day or night, it can cause difficulties with your sleep. If you must drink coffee at night, ensure it’s decaffeinated to minimize sleep disruption.

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