If you're one of the many people who suffer from restless sleep, this article is for you. When we sleep, our brain chemistry changes. When this is disrupted by shoddy sleeping habits or interrupted sleep cycles, the results can be devastating on your health and mood: you might experience depression; anxiety; poor concentration levels and a reduced metabolism. Sleep deprivation can wreak havoc on your health and mental well-being, so it's important to improve your sleep quality.
This post will outline 11 steps that will help you get a better night's rest and improve your overall health!
Step One: Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule.
Keeping regular hours for bedtime is important because it allows your body's internal clock, or "circadian rhythm," to get into a natural routine. Keep in mind that an irregular sleep schedule can throw off your circadian rhythm big time. This is because it prevents you from getting a full, restful night's worth of deep sleep and also makes it difficult for you to be fully awake during the day. When we wake up early or stay up late our bodies release stress hormones like cortisol into our bloodstreams which then causes us to feel sleepy when there really isn't much time left before bedtime comes around again! Keeping regular hours for bedtime is important so that this does not happen which means no going to bed too early or late with at least 7-8 hours of good quality REM cycles every single night. Choose a time that works for you, and stick to it!
Step Two : Avoid Caffeine After Noon.
Caffeine is a tricky substance because it can stay active inside your system for hours. Coffee drinkers beware: drinking coffee in the morning or afternoon may disrupt your sleep, but caffeine's effects last much longer than you might think!
Step Three : Avoid Alcohol After Dinner.
Drinking alcohol before bed may cause you to have difficulty sleeping because it will inhibit your ability to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone. Alcohol also irritates stomachs which make us more susceptible for heartburn or acid reflux that interrupts our sleep even further. Many people like to unwind with a drink of alcohol in the evening, but it can lead to poor sleep if consumed before bed. Why does this happen? Alcohol is metabolised by your liver and digestion slows down as you prepare for slumber; there's also less time between when you finish drinking and fall asleep. Drinking too much before going into stage 1 or 2 sleep cycles might disrupt breathing patterns that help us get quality restful night’s sleep!
Step Four : Avoid Sugar Before Bedtime.
The sugar found in many foods and drinks will cause your blood glucose levels to rise, which may make you feel more awake than usual.
Step Five: Exercise Daily!
This is an important step for everyone but especially those who are looking into improving their quality or quantity on restful nights as exercise releases endorphins that help us relax. Exercise also helps to burn calories and excess energy which is helpful when resting.
Step Six: Get Enough Sunlight.
Getting enough sunlight during the day helps to regulate our natural circadian rhythms and can help us sleep better at night. Get some daylight! If it is sunny outside or if your office has windows, try opening them for at least an hour during lunchtime. The natural light will make its way into your eyes which helps regulate our circadian rhythms that control how we feel about the time of day as well as when we are tired (our internal body clock). This in turn can also improve moods and memory function thanks to sunlight exposure throughout the day. The sun is like magic for many reasons; one being that it plays an important role in keeping our circadian rhythms regulated so we feel more energized during the day while at sleep better at night. Did you also know there are studies linking lack of exposure to natural light with increased risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease? Studies show that people who live where they have less access to daylight suffer from cognitive impairments faster than those living near areas bathed with lots or sunshine!
Step Seven: Keep your room cool.
A cold temperature can help to reduce the amount of time it takes for us to fall asleep. The optimal temperature for a good night's sleep is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 to 19.5 degrees Celsius. This means that the room should be cool, but not too cold because there are some other factors to consider such as our sleeping habits or if we live in an area with really hot weather outside.
Step Eight: Keep your room dark and quiet at night!
This can be done by using blackout curtains, ear plugs or noise-cancelling headphones if needed so that you are not disturbed during sleep hours. If there needs more than just darkness then consider adding an eye mask to your sleep routine. Keep an eye out on our loyalty programme, we will be releasing Simply Nootropics masks soon!
Step nine: Get your mobile phone out of the bedroom.
Your mobile phone is a big culprit in disrupting your body's natural sleep cycle. The blue light from the screen can make it tougher to get into bed because you're too active and energized. This will cause more difficulty with sleeping, which means that even if you are lucky enough to fall asleep quickly, there might be disruptions throughout the night due to this interruption of melatonin production
Your bedroom should be your sanctuary. No phones allowed!
Step Ten: Try meditation at night to unwind.
Mediation is one of the best ways to fight off stress and get a good night's sleep. Meditate for five minutes before bedtime by focusing on breathing, or you could even try yoga!
Step Eleven: Keep a to-do list and get your work schedule out of your head.
Write a to-do list for the next day, so you can get your work out of your head and have a better night's sleep! Over thinking before bedtime is a sure-fire way to a restless night sleep. Writing it down can reduce stress and help you with a plan for the next day, when you are rested and ready to tackle your goals!
And there you have it, those are eleven ideas you can implement to help improve your restless sleep.
