Are you tossing and turning all night? Do you wake up feeling like you just went to bed?
If your time spent in slumber isn't restful, it isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing for your health.
Research shows that not only is sleep beneficial, but it's also as necessary to our survival as food and water! Yet, it's easy to neglect quality sleep in favor of staying awake to finish the day's tasks or staying up to watch a really good TV show.
Getting quality sleep is a vital part of how our brain functions, how our nerve cells communicate, and the removal of toxins in the brain. So, if you aren't sleeping well, you're probably not functioning as optimally as you could be while you're awake.
Your restful sleep, or lack of it, is likely due to your sleep hygiene habits. With these few tweaks in your schedule and daily choices, you can have the quality slumber you need to be at peak health in the future.
1. Stick to a Schedule
Did you know you can dictate your body's sleep schedule if you're consistent with when you go to bed and what time you wake up?
It's true that our nocturnal clocks, officially called our circadian rhythms, are set to the day and night cycle. It's an evolutionary habit ingrained in our DNA as a survival method. Now that there's technology like electricity and an abundance of food availability, the natural sleep cycle can be detrimental to certain lifestyles.
You can retrain your rhythms to go to sleep and wake up on demand, even without an alarm clock. The key is to figure out how much sleep you need (your age and activity levels matter) and adjust your bedtime and wake-up schedule accordingly.
Keep in mind if you use any substances to help you sleep, whether a sleeping pill, medical marijuana, or something else, you should take those aids before starting your wind-down routines. Read the instructions that come with your medication or supplement to see how long before it kicks in (or use your previous experience).
You can also ask the physician who gave you the prescription for advice. If you're in a state where medical marijuana is legal, like Pennsylvania, check out reputable companies such as Veriheal for your MMJ needs.
It may take a few weeks for your circadian rhythms to adjust to your preferred schedule, but with consistency, you'll find it becomes easier to fall asleep and wake up without any extra help.
2. Establish the Right Ambiance
What does your bedroom look like? Is it the place you go to when you want to hang out, surrounded by all your favorite posters and knicknacks? Do you store your extra things there because they just don't fit elsewhere?
If your bedroom is full of clutter, even controlled clutter, it could contribute to your restless sleep. Your brain is designed to pay attention to its surroundings, even when you're asleep. The sights, smells, and noises in your room can wake you up between sleep stages.
For instance, the light on your alarm clock probably won't bother you when you fall asleep, but it could be distracting enough that your brain recognizes it, and it wakes you up in the middle of the night.
Set the atmosphere of your room to focus on relaxation and a full night's rest. Get rid of any unnecessary clutter, lights, sounds, and scents. Having aromatherapy or playing an app to help you fall asleep is fine, but make sure they're set to shut off with a timer.
Invest in comfortable blankets and pillows. You'll spend much of your life in your bed, more than any other furniture in your home, so it's worth making it the ideal haven for you! Bring in a fan or whatever you need to do to ensure you're sleeping in the ideal temperature for you to rest.
3. Start Preparing for Bed Early
Here's the thing about getting ready for a good night's slumber. It actually starts long before you take your sleep medicine or start winding down!
Stimulating ingredients like caffeine stay in your body for hours. Try to skip any food or drink with energizing chemicals after lunchtime. This includes alcohol, which is a depressant but also wakes you up after a few hours.
Many of us eat our largest meal at dinner, but that's counterintuitive to getting good rest. Your body digests food for hours after you eat, which can be uncomfortable and cause you to wake up to these internal processes. Eat your last meal two to three hours before you plan on laying down to ensure most of the digestion process is complete. It's healthier and can help you maintain or lose weight, too.
Finally, find a way to get physically active throughout the day. Exercise tires your body and mind out in positive ways, letting you fall asleep more easily.
Conclusion
Ready to get better rest starting tonight? Start switching out your old habits with these three lifestyle changes, and you'll quickly see how much more productive and happier you can be with a good night's sleep!
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