We all know how important getting enough sleep each night is to our health, both physical and mental. But knowing that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier for you to get the sleep you need. Sleep problems and trouble maintaining a consistent sleeping pattern are issues that are very common, with millions contending with them each and every night.
So what can you do to improve your sleeping habits and to get the sleep you need each night? We’re going to talk today about some of the changes you should think about making in order to help you sleep easy each time your head hits the pillow. So read on now and find out more.
Create a Schedule and Routine
First of all, you should think about creating a solid schedule and a routine that you can follow day after day. When you have a good routine in place, you can make it something that you follow without even thinking about it. But if you’re changing up your bedtime routine and schedule day after day, it becomes unpredictable and your body clock doesn’t like that. So try your best to keep things as consistent as they can be. It’s a case of training your body.
Try Yoga and/or Meditation Before Sleeping
If you want to do something healthy and positive, yoga and meditation are two things to consider. And on top of helping you boost your health, you’ll also find that these activities help you to get to sleep better at night too. You just need to set a little time aside in the hours before you usually go to bed and take some time to try them out. Meditation is great at calming you and clearing your mind, so if that’s something you often struggle with when it comes to getting to sleep, be sure to give it a try.
Read a Book
Reading a good book is always relaxing, and you’ll find that if you do it just before you go to bed, it’ll be a lot easier for you to get off to sleep. You’ll notice your eyelids becoming heavy and you’ll want to put down the book. That’s precisely when you should lay down, without reaching for your phone and try to get to sleep. It’s a technique that works surprisingly well, so give it a try if you haven’t done so already. You might be surprised.
Invest in Comfortable Bedding and a Good Mattress
The comfort that your bed is able to offer will have a big impact on how easy you find it to get to sleep at night. Comfortable bedding and a really good mattress that offers your body the support it needs can make such a big difference. If it’s been a long time since you made these changes to your bedroom, now is definitely a good time to think about making them. The more comfortable your bed is, the easier you’ll find getting to sleep in it.
Improve Your Natural Light Exposure During the Day
If you want to make sure you get plenty of sleep at night, you need to think about what you’re doing in the day. Of course, you don’t want lots of light coming into the room when you’re trying to sleep, but exposure to more natural light during the day can make it easier for you to sleep at night, so think about using a window replacement company and having new windows installed or your old ones improved. The more natural light coming into your space during the day, the better it is for your chances of getting to sleep at night.
Shut Off Devices a Couple of Hours Before Sleeping
We’ve mentioned it briefly above, but technology is no friend of sleep. If you want to get to sleep easily and quickly, you should definitely think about shutting off your devices an hour or so before you go to bed. Sitting in bed staring at your phone makes it harder for you to sleep because of the blue light that the phone’s screen emits. Shut those devices off and leave them alone a couple of hours ahead of bedtime if you can.
Don’t Eat Dinner Too Late
Another thing that can make it a little harder for you to get to sleep in the evening is eating too late. If you eat dinner just before you go to bed, that meal will weigh down your stomach and your body will be working hard to process the food. That’s not what you want when you’re trying to get to sleep. That discomfort that comes from a big meal, especially one packed full of carbs, is what you should be trying to avoid.
Reduce the Temperature in Your Bedroom
The temperature in your bedroom is something else that will have a big impact on how easy it is for you to get to sleep. If the temperature is too high, you’ll feel uncomfortable and you simply won’t be able to get to sleep. So be sure to reduce the temperature a little. Even if you don’t really notice much of a difference, your body certainly will and that’s what matters most here.
Try to Avoid Sleeping During the Day
Finally, you should make sure you’re not sleeping during the day because this only makes it more difficult for you to get to sleep in the evening. Be sure to stay awake even if you feel like a quick nap. It might feel like a good idea in the moment, but it won’t when you’re struggling to sleep at night.
Consider other factors that might be affecting your sleep as well. An estimated 70 million people in the United States suffer from sleep disorders. Around 22 million of them have sleep apnea. This condition can severely affect your sleep quality and can lead to health complications and even death. Sleep apnea symptoms include breathing pauses during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, and suddenly waking up gasping and choking.
The good news is that sleep apnea can be managed. People who have it use a sleep aid device called a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to breathe normally during sleep and get uninterrupted shuteye every night. Consult your doctor immediately if you suspect you have sleep apnea or a different sleep disorder.
So if you want to bring some order and routine to your sleeping habits, be sure to make the most of the tips and tricks discussed above. Each of them will help you to sleep better and improve your health by doing so. Different tactics work for different people, but a combination of the ideas above should help you sleep better and more consistently.
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