6 Interesting Ways to Improve Your Sleep
Sleep is one of your body’s most important resources. It gives you essential energy and helps you stay well. While this is a vital resource, too many adults wake in the morning feeling drained. If you are like many others who struggle to get enough or high enough quality of sleep, you may be depriving yourself of this necessary resource; however, you don’t need to suffer from sleepiness. If you want to improve your sleep, here are six interesting suggestions that you need to try.
Nutrient-Rich Fuel for Good Sleep
While you may be familiar with the importance of food when it comes to living a healthy life, what you may not realize is that food can also impact your sleep. Certain things like caffeine and alcohol can impede sleep, but there are also foods to help you sleep. If you want to achieve restful slumber, turn your attention to your diet and find options that put you in the best circumstances to get a good night’s rest.
Regimented Routine
If you want to improve your sleep, it is time to reevaluate your routine. The steps that you take to prepare for bedtime are immensely influential in your sleep cycle. If you are someone who scrolls through social media or the news before you fall asleep, this can impede your slumbers. Instead, you want to follow a routine that promotes relaxation and winding down to optimize your sleep conditions. Once you have this routine, stick to it. By following the same regimen night after night, you cue your brain to wind down and ready yourself to rest.
Carefully Timed Exercise
While this may sound counterintuitive, exercise and physical activity are important parts of getting a good night’s sleep. By engaging in physical activity and getting your heart pumping, you activate your body’s natural cycles and use up energy to help you rest more soundly. Although exercise is a powerful influence on your sleep, it can also work adversely when timed incorrectly, especially if you are engaging in vigorous exercise before bed. If you want to experience the positive benefits of exercise and sleep, timing is key.
Avoid Napping for Long Periods
If you are feeling tired, nothing feels better than taking a midday nap. While this may recharge you at the moment, it can negatively impact your sleep. If you want to avoid this negative cycle, keep your naps to a minimum. When you do decide to take a nap, limit the duration to no more than thirty minutes. In desperate times, a short nap can make the world of difference, while not hindering your future slumbers.
Be Mindful of Noise
While loud, disruptive noises may be obvious hindrances to your sound slumbers, noise can unknowingly cause sleep disturbances. Even moderately loud sounds can interrupt your sleep. This can be particularly difficult for those who live near busy streets or neighborhoods. While you cannot control external factors, you can control your bedroom. Whether you swap your windows for alternatives with better insulation or add white noise to drown out some of the sounds, there are plenty of ways to reduce noise and its impact on your sleep.
Cool, Darkened Bedroom
Another environmental factor that you may need to address is the light and temperature in your room. Ideally, your bedroom is a cool, dark space. This is the best condition for good sleep. If you find yourself woken up by being too warm or waking at the moment the sun rises, you need to change your bedroom environment. Adding blackout curtains and lowering the temperature or adding an air conditioning unit to your bedroom can help you turn your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary.
If you desperately need a better night’s sleep, these six suggestions are a great place to start. You may be surprised at the vast difference a few changes can make. Don’t force yourself to suffer through sleepless nights and overly tired days when you can improve your sleep and change your life.
