5 Tips to help you sleep better

Five Tips to Help You Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to the human body. Unfortunately, getting a good night of sleep is not always easy. Sometimes it’s difficult to fall asleep, and other times staying asleep is a challenge. Busy schedules can keep us up later than we should be, disrupting our sleep cycles. When the length and quality of sleep is poor, it’s obvious the next day. It’s possible to wake up feeling so tired that it feels like you haven’t slept at all. Lack of sleep also causes cognitive dysfunction. Try these five tips to improve your quality of sleep.

Cut Out Caffeine After 2 PM

As much as we rely on caffeinated beverages to keep us stimulated during the day, consuming too many of them can lead to jitters. Those cups of coffee, energy drinks and sodas you’re using to combat that 3 pm fog may be a part of what’s keeping you up at night. Cut out caffeine after 2 PM and stick with water. When a mid-afternoon slump hits, snack on fruit and seeds for a natural energy boost.

Turn Off Anything with a Screen by 8 PM

The bright lights and flashing light patterns from television sets, computers and games can disrupt sleep patterns. These lights stimulate the brain in such a way that the natural inclination to begin relaxing is postponed. Watching TV or playing on your laptop until moments before bed can leave you unable to turn your brain off. Instead, cut out the electronics for at least two hours before bed and proceed with the next step.

Form a Bedtime Routine

Creating a bedtime routine for yourself can help your body form habits that cause it to automatically anticipate and prepare for sleep. The routine should start about two hours before bed and include low key activities such as reading a book, conversing with a spouse or housemate, working on a simple craft and engaging in night-time hygiene habits such as brushing your teeth and washing your face. After a few weeks of preparing for sleep in this way, your body will notice the change and adapt accordingly.

Make Your Bed A Place for Sleeping

This may sound obvious, but it’s a fact. Using your bed for reading a book, working on your computer or other activities for which it was not intended takes away from the feeling that your bed is a place for sleeping. Instead, read your book in a comfortable chair and use your computer at your desk so your mind adjusts to the idea that your bed is a place where you sleep.  Also ensure you have a nice comfortable mattress with the proper amount of firmness.  If you’re looking for a latex mattress in Brisbane stop by Latex Mattress Australia’s factory and showroom on Boundary Road or pop into their brand new showroom on James Street, New Farm.

Change Positions

Most people have a position in which they are naturally inclined to fall asleep, but that position may contribute to poor sleep quality. If you don’t have trouble falling asleep but are experiencing daytime tiredness, you may be having trouble breathing while sleeping, causing non restorative sleep. Try sleeping on your back with your head propped up on a latex pillow. This position is the most conducive to easy breathing. It may take some time to train your body to fall asleep in this position, but once you have, you may notice that you no longer feel as much daytime fatigue.