8 Steps to Improve Your Quality of Sleep
Whether you’re going to catch some Z’s, crash, hit the hay, get some shut-eye, hit the sack, go nod off for a spell, snooze a bit, turn in, or . . . just catch forty winks, all you want, is just to sleep!
Whatever it is that you like to say when you are about to go to bed, it all means the same thing, and that thing often doesn’t happen for a lot of people, at least not in the way they want it to!
There are a lot of reasons some of us can’t fall asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back to sleep. It can be a busy mind, medication, work, kids, stress, health, etc. But I’m going to give you just a few tips that I hope can help you improve your quality of sleep!
REGULARITY
As annoying or uncool as it may seem, our bodies are actually extremely responsive to habits and regularity. When these get all messed up, it throws off our circadian rhythm.
when we follow a regular schedule, our bodies become accustom to it and our quality of sleep tends to be much better.
In a Neuroscience and Biobehavioral review done by Zelinski El, he says, “Health problems can result from a disturbance to the circadian rhythm.”
The circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours.
Although the circadian rhythm is built-in, it is adjusted to the local environment by external cues, which include light, temperature and redox (chemical reaction) cycles. This is why we are able to adjust when we start staying up later, working nights, travel, etc.
Symptoms of depression, high blood pressure, migraines, and other health issues and diseases, worsen, when our sleep cycle is interrupted. Even one night of missed sleep can create a prediabetic state in an otherwise healthy person.
CAFFEINE
It takes 4-6 hours for the body to metabolize caffeine, which is a stimulant that can disturb a good nights rest. Just 1 cup of coffee (even early in the day) can still effect quality sleep.
If you’ve decided to quit drinking caffeine altogether, it can take 2 weeks and up to 2 months of being off of caffeine, before the detox process is complete. During this phase, you may find it very difficult to sleep, even though you’re not consuming caffeine at all.
ALCOHOL
Initially, a drink helps most people fall right to sleep. But did you know that, even though you fall asleep quicker and sleep sounder right away, it actually reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And the more you drink before bed, the more pronounced these effects. REM sleep happens about 90 minutes after we fall asleep. REM sleep is when you dream. It is also the part of your sleep that strengthens your immune system. Deep sleep is “for your body” and REM sleep is “for your brain”.
Because alcohol messes up the natural sleep patterns in our bodies, the quality of sleep is compromised.
WATER
Dehydration causes your mouth and nasal passages to become dry, setting you up for sleep-disruptive snoring and a dry throat. A lack of water can also lead to night time leg cramps that can keep you awake.
On the flip side, drinking water too close to going to bed can keep you up at night visiting the bathroom. So be sure to get those 96oz out of the way, starting when you wake up, tapering off later on in the day so that you’re not super thirsty right before bedtime!
DIET
An investigation showed that a diet containing fresh fruits and vegetables, low saturated fat, and whole grains may be optimal for people wanting to improve sleep quality.
EXERCISE
Physical activity improves sleep quality and increases sleep duration. Exercise also reduces stress and tires you out, making sleep sweeter.
FRESH AIR
Fresh air can actually increase your immunity levels, preventing from a lot of common sicknesses, and of course if you’re well, you’re going to sleep much better. It can also reduces stress, and I don’t know about you, but stress makes my nights awful!
BE THANKFUL
A positive thought pattern promotes better sleep because your mind is more accustom to peace and gratitude. When we worry and focus on the negative things in life, sleep becomes harder to achieve because the mind is too busy worrying. Practice positive thinking and gratefulness before bedtime to put your mind in a worry-free state.
If you have any thoughts or questions, I’d love to hear them! Please reach out to me anytime! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.