One of the many things that your body needs for proper functioning is a good night’s sleep. You can sleep all you want during the day or even take just a power nap; however, the importance of sleep cannot be underestimated. Your brain needs to recharge itself for the next day after functioning non-stop for the whole day. This recharge is possible only when you can have a relaxed sleep during the night.
There are times when you feel sleepy, but you just cannot sleep as soon as you hit the bed. Why does that happen? Well, it could be due to many reasons like maybe you just don’t have the right environment to fall asleep in or maybe you slept for too long during the day! So, to make it better for you, let’s go through a few points that will help you fall into a relaxed state of sleep.
7 Steps To Follow For A Relaxed Sleep
Set A Strict Schedule
Having a proper sleep schedule in place is a critical practice that you must include in your life. Make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep each night. A minimum of seven hours of sleep every night is advised for healthy adults. The vast majority of people don’t require more than eight hours of sleep to accomplish this aim.
Make a regular sleeping and waking schedule. Try to keep the variance between your weekday and weekend sleep schedules to no more than one hour. Your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle is strengthened when you stick to a regular schedule.
Get out of bed and do something soothing if you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes of getting into bed. For example, listen to calming music or read a good book. When you’re exhausted, go back to bed. Repeat as necessary.
Pay Attention To The Food You Eat
Refrain from going to bed either completely hungry or overly fed. Try to avoid eating anything substantial within two hours of the night. Discomfort may keep you awake at night. In addition, a good night’s sleep may be hampered by a high-carbohydrate diet, according to studies.
If you want to get to sleep faster, a high-carbohydrate diet may help, but it won’t be restful sleep. Instead, eating a lot of fat before bed may help you get a better night’s sleep. Numerous studies, both old and new, show that a high-carb/low-fat diet dramatically reduces sleep quality. In addition, high-carbohydrate diets with low-calorie content were more effective than low-carbohydrate diets with high-fat content.
If you’re a fan of a high-carb diet, make sure that you eat all your food four hours before you hit the bed. This is to provide your body with enough time to process and digest the food.
Create A Peaceful Environment
Create a sleep-friendly environment. When we say “cold, dark, and quiet,” we usually mean just that. Exposure to light may make it more difficult to fall asleep, according to some experts. So avoid using light-emitting screens for an extended period right before going to bed. Instead, use a fan, earplugs, room-darkening curtains, or other gadgets to create a comfortable space for yourself.
Taking a bath or engaging in other relaxing activities before bedtime may help you get a better night’s sleep. Ensure that your surroundings are quiet and peaceful. This will calm down your senses and relax your mind and body from within. Also, choosing comfortable bedding helps in having a good and relaxed sleep.
Limit Day Naps
A short nap of 30 mins in the day is still acceptable as it is known to affect your alertness and concentration level profoundly. However, the problem arises when this 30-minute nap converts into a 2-hour long sleep session. As a result, insomniacs have a problem not sleeping during the night, making them feel very sleepy during the day.
It was revealed that older persons who napped a lot had a lower quality of sleep, more depressive symptoms, and less physical activity at night, according to a study in 1996. In addition, they were more likely to be obese than individuals who rarely slept.
Recent research on teenagers found that daytime napping reduced sleep duration and decreased sleep quality. However, other studies have shown that naps do not affect the quality of one’s sleep at night.
Avoid Caffeine And Alcohol
Caffeine is known to make people active and alert. However, caffeine doesn’t necessarily mean just coffee. Caffeine can be present in many other things like chocolates, coffee, energy drinks, sodas, etc. Consumption of caffeine can disturb your sleep cycle significantly. Caffeine doesn’t have the same effect on every person. However, it is still recommended that you consume caffeine products at least six hours before hitting the bed. Also, alcohol can surely make you feel drowsy and hence, impair faster sleep. However, it may also disturb your sleep later in the night.
Indulge In Some Form Of Physical Activity
A good night’s sleep is generally attributed to regular physical activity. Serotonin, the brain’s feel-good chemical, is boosted by exercise and reduced cortisol levels, allowing for a longer and more restful sleep. However, it’s critical to stick to a low-intensity workout schedule and avoid being injured. In addition, poor sleep has been linked to excessive training.
In addition to the time of day you exercise, it is also essential. For example, to get a better night’s sleep, it appears that exercising in the morning is preferable to exercising later in the day. As a result, moderate to strenuous activity in the morning could have a significant impact on the quality and quantity of sleep you experience each night.
Manage Stress
This is one of the most critical areas to manage if you really want to have a peaceful sleep and, ultimately, a peaceful life. If you have thousands of tensions running inside your mind, you can never attract positivity and calm. Instead, your mind will be busy thinking about things that aren’t even in your control. Therefore, make it a practice to resolve issues or make peace with them before you go to sleep. This way, you will be more satisfied with the entire situation and can completely relax while you sleep.
Conclusion
No matter how successful we are or how busy we are, nothing else matters if you do not have a peaceful life. But, unfortunately, we often ignore our health because we all are part of a rat race, knowingly or unknowingly. Amidst all of this, we lose our minds and sleep over things that will only ruin our health and not make it better. So, instead, let us pledge to concentrate on our health first and the rest of the things later. Follow the above steps and watch your sleep go from unpeaceful to calm, relaxed and peaceful!
