words Alexa Wang
In order to maintain a healthy body and mind it is vital that we get enough quality sleep each night. This is not always easy as we have so many responsibilities that we need to juggle in our lives that it can be hard to switch off at the end of the day.
A lack of sleep can have so many negative consequences that we really need to take the necessary measures to improve our sleep habits.
Here are 4 great tips to supercharge your sleep.
1. Make your room conducive to sleeping
The most important factor in guaranteeing a good night’s sleep is to create the perfect sleeping environment. Light suppresses our melatonin production so it’s important that we keep our bedrooms dark. Darkness also serves as a powerful cue to tell our bodies to wind down and rest. An uncomfortable mattress can seriously affect your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. We reached out to the mattress experts at https://www.myisense.com/ who told us that there are so many great options available these days, no matter what your personal mattress preference is. There are even mattresses that you can manually adjust to ensure that you have the absolutely perfect sleeping conditions. As well as a great mattress, it’s also important to keep your room quiet so that your senses are not over stimulated. Depending on where you live, it can sometimes be hard to avoid noise. Especially if you live in a city, there may be traffic and random city noises so earplugs are a great way to block out the noise.
2. Avoid blue light before bed
Nowadays our lives are full of screens. We have our laptops, TVs, smartphones, tablets, e-readers and now even our watches have screens on them. A lot of these screens emit blue light and recent studies have shown that blue light suppresses melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone produced by our bodies and its primary function is to tell our bodies when to sleep and when to wake up. It’s not easy to avoid screens since a lot of us are dependent on it for school or work but there are several ways to avoid blue light. For example, some professionals like designers, programmers and other people who work with their computer all day long wear special glasses that block blue light and studies have shown that they are effective. In iOS, there is a setting called Night Shift that lets you adjust the color temperature of the screen to warmer colors at night.
3. Watch your eating and drinking
It’s very important to think carefully about what you consume before bed, in particular, your coffee intake.If you are a coffee lover, try to avoid caffeine for at least six hours before bedtime. This of course is different for different people. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others so if you are particularly caffeine sensitive, you should probably have your last cup a little bit earlier. There are also some foods that have caffeine in them like protein bars, ice cream, tea, candy and even hot chocolate. Keep this in mind when you’re looking for snacks to munch on while studying or doing work, especially in the evening. In addition, when it comes to eating, it is not recommended to eat a big meal close to bedtime. Some meals are harder to digest and that could hinder your sleep. If you get hungry at night, try snacking on foods that are easier to digest for your body.
4. Establishing a pre-sleep routine
Just as we do with your children, following a pre-sleep routine can really help with sleep. Just before bed is a good time to do something relaxing which allows you to unwind from the day, like taking a bath, practicing a skin care routine, reading a book, or journaling to reflect. It is very important to follow a consistent sleep schedule. This can be very difficult if you work in a job that has irregular hours or shift patterns, or if you have a baby or young children, it can be really difficult but sleeping and waking up at the same time sets our bodies’ internal clocks so it is best to keep waking up at the same time even on the weekends or on off days.
There are a range of health benefits that are provided by consistent, quality sleep. When you have a sleep routine you feel happier, more energized and are less prone to illness. Getting enough quality sleep can seem impossible with so much on our schedules, but follow these four tips and you can really supercharge your sleep.
