It is widely accepted that quality sleep is an essential part of maintaining good physical and mental health. However, due to busy lifestyles and various other factors such as poor diet and stress many people are sleep deprived.
Poor quality sleep causes many short-term problems including:
- Drowsiness during the daytime
- Decreased alertness
- Increased risk of accidents
- Reduced memory
- Stress on relationships due to bad moods
- Poorer quality of life as sleep deprived people are less likely to participate in usual daily activities or exercise
Long periods of chronic sleep deprivation also increase the risk of serious health issues such as diabetes, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and strokes.
Furthermore, sleep deprivation also affects a person’s appearance by causing premature wrinkling and dark circles around the eyes. In addition, lack of sleep is also linked to heightened levels of stress hormones. This breaks down collagen which is required for healthy and smooth skin.
Regularly getting enough sleep is vital to living a healthy and productive life, therefore this article looks at some advice and tips on how to get plenty of good quality sleep.
Tips on How to Get of Good Quality Sleep
Upgrade Your Bed
An uncomfortable mattress is a major cause of poor sleeping patterns. Choosing the right mattress is down to personal preferences, therefore before getting a new one many people do some research using a bed size chart to find out the best size bed for them. In addition, people will also look into the design of a mattress to check how hard or soft it is.
People should carefully consider which mattress they want to get as sleeping on an unsuitable mattress can result in a sore neck and back, joint pain, and fatigue.
The type of mattress is a personal choice, so it is worth reading up on the different characteristics of the various designs, these include:
- Innerspring: the most affordable option made from metal coils allows for a cool night’s sleep as air can flow around the structure of coils.
- Latex: natural or synthetic versions that provide bounce, cooling, and responsiveness
- Memory foam: takes on the contours of the body to give pressure relief and support
- Hybrid: a combination of the above designs
- Pillow-top: an extra layer of padded material is sewn into the top to add extra comfort
- Waterbed: great for people suffering from allergies, arthritis, or back pain
Create a Bedtime Routine
Many people have problems getting to sleep at night and may end up spending hours in bed trying and failing to fall asleep. Insomnia is often the result of activities long before settling into bed. Therefore it is essential to crafting a bedtime routine that is relaxing and ultimately sleep-inducing.
Some ways of improving your pre-sleeping routine are:
- Winding down for a minimum of 30 minutes before getting into bed. The right state of mind can be achieved by gentle stretching, listening to soft music, reading, or doing relaxation exercises.
- Turning down the lights to encourage the production of melatonin, a sleep promoting hormone.
- Stop using electronic devices and watching TV. The use of laptops, tablets, and smartphones keeps the brain active and discourages the release of melatonin due to the light emanating from screens.
- Avoid drinking alcohol or coffee
- Don’t eat too late in the evening
Make Your Room More Relaxing for Sleep
Surroundings play an important role in how quickly people get to sleep and how many interruptions to sleep they experience. Therefore, it is advisable to make sure a bedroom is a relaxing place suitable for a perfect night’s sleep.
This can be done by making sure it is cool, comfortable, dark, and quiet. All electronic devices should be turned off and stored away, and any irritating sounds blocked out or stopped.
Keep To a Sleep Schedule
Optimizing your sleep schedule is a crucial part of getting a good night’s sleep. Altering your sleeping patterns to ensure better quality rest is possible by implementing the following strategies:
- Wake up at the same time every day even on the weekends when you feel like sleeping in
- Set aside enough time for sleep to make sure you get the recommended amount of sleeping
- Avoid napping for too long, the ideal time for a nap is after lunch for around 20-30 minutes
- Make adjustments to your sleep schedule slowly so your body can get used to the changes gradually
Adjust Your Diet
A balanced and nutritious diet is key to a person’s overall health. It is recommended to eat a diet that is varied and full of minerals and vitamins. Some drinks and foods that are particularly good at promoting healthy sleeping patterns are:
- Almonds: which contain melatonin and magnesium
- Chamomile tea: antioxidants present promote sleep
- Kiwi fruit: due to the sleep promoting effects of serotonin, vitamin C, and carotenoids
- Fatty fish: omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D help to increase serotonin levels
- Dairy products: such as cheese, milk, and yogurt are sources of tryptophan
Exercise More
Regular exercise has many health benefits such as reducing the risk of health problems like cancer and diabetes and promoting physical and mental functions.
Exercise also has a positive impact on a person as it often reduces the amount of time it takes to get to sleep. In addition, it also decreases the chance of insomnia and feeling sleepy during the day.
Generally, to promote good sleep people do moderate to vigorous exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.
Manage Stress
Anxiety and stress are common causes of poor sleep as they raise adrenaline levels and increase the heart rate which triggers your body into thinking it shouldn’t be sleeping.
A major cause of stress is overwork as it makes people feel overstimulated and leaves little time to exercise or wind down before bed. There are however several ways people can reduce their stress levels to help improve their quality of sleeping, these include:
- Getting plenty of exposure to sunlight
- Regular exercise
- Wellness techniques such as meditation and yoga
- Aromatherapy
- Writing a journal
- Carefully organizing finances and work
- Taking supplements such as B12, magnesium, melatonin, and tryptophan
- Eating a balanced diet
- Seeking professional help from a doctor or therapist
Sleep deprivation can have many negative effects on your health and everyday performance in life. For this reason, it is important to ensure you are getting enough quality sleep, which can be achieved by following the useful tips in this article.