A solid nights’ sleep is good for your mind, body, and soul – or so your doctor keeps telling you. The man in the white coat isn’t wrong; a peaceful slumber is a healing process for your body, ridding the toxins, renewing your cells, and giving your brain a break from all the daily stress. However, falling asleep isn’t as easy as it turns out. Even if you fall asleep, there’s the issue of actually staying asleep. If you’re finding that you’re going into a battle with the sandman every night, adopt some of these habits to encourage a deep and interrupted sleep.
Be Smart About Napping
There’s nothing like a mid-afternoon kip. It’s an effective way to recharge the batteries and keep you going if you’re planning on having a late night. While napping has its benefits, adults in particular need to be smart when they hit the pillow during the day. Snoozing for too long can heighten your chances of insomnia, affecting your normal bed time and making the act of falling asleep that much harder. You’ll go to bed later, sleep less hours, and wake up with an overwhelming feeling of grogginess. If you’ve previously dealt with insomnia, consider eliminating day-time naps. But if you need to, don’t wait too late in the day and limit your snooze to a maximum of thirty minutes.
Switch Off
Do you take your screens with you into the bedroom? Scroll through the nonsensical Facebook newsfeed before you switch off the lights? You might think that retweeting celebrity tweets or indulging in one (maybe five) episodes of Game of Thrones is a great way to relax before bed, however all those bright lights are fooling your brain into believing that it’s still day time. The Lighting Research Centre conducted a series of tests that confirm the UV light built into your laptop, tablet, and phone has the ability to supress your melatonin (important for regulating your sleep cycle) by twenty percent. Because of the reduced levels of melatonin, the brain struggles to perform its natural unwinding process, subsequently leaving you switched on and engaged till the moment you decide to hit the hay. The point? No screens for at least an hour before you go to sleep.
Set a Bed Time Alarm
Sometimes the simplest things can be the most powerful, and when it comes to getting more sleep, you’ll try everything once, right? This concept might seem a bit unconventional however many sleep consultants swear by it. The concept revolves around setting an alarm that notifies you of when you need to go to sleep. If you think about it, you set an alarm to wake you up; an alarm that’s snooze function likely gets a solid workout, suggesting that you are not getting enough sleep, so why not set a bed time alarm? Set two buzzers, one for when it’s time to get ready for bed, and one for when you need to shut those eyes. After a while, you’ll eventually get your body into a sleep pattern where you won’t need the alarm anymore.
Upgrade Your Mattress
Have you been waking up from a restless nights’ sleep with a dull ache in your back? Have you been sleeping on the same lumpy mattress for the better half of a decade? If you’re mattress feels more like a hammock than a firm, solid surface then perhaps the solution to all your sleeping problems could all come down to investing in a new and better mattress. Not sure what type of mattress is the right one for you? A visit to Latex Mattresses Brisbane will sort out the right one for you. It’s a general rule of thumb that you should replace your mattress every seven to ten years. If you’re past your due date, it’s definitely time for an upgrade.