Healthy Sleeping Habits

sleep

Good sleep hygiene is vital for everyone. It is the most critical component of a healthy body. Healthy sleep habits help you focus better, keep your mood upbeat, make you a safe driver, and be more productive at work. Good quality sleep is essential to having your function like a powerhouse. Moreover, having a good mattress is an additional point for a good sleep. If you are looking for it, the mattress store offers great quality mattresses at affordable prices.

Here is a list of healthy sleeping habits to help you snooze off fast when you hit the pillow.

1. Snack Wisely to Snooze off fast

You’re hungry. Dinner is in the past and sleep is just ahead. The wrong late-night snacks can add to your weight and subtract from your rest. It works both ways.

Eating a healthy diet improves the duration and quality of your sleep. When you get enough sleep, you are also less likely to have hunger pangs.

Nocturnal eating is termed as munching on any food 30-60 minutes before snooze time. This has a negative influence on your sleep quality, especially for women more than men. This is due to the physical discomfort you experience after and the reduced digestive activity.

Snack wisely before bed. These guilt-free options are your best bet when your yawn hits hard. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and muscle relaxants for a good night’s rest. They include bananas, apples, tart cherries, and malted milk.

2. Go easy on the booze

Yes, a glass of scotch or red wine sure makes you feel drowsy, but research shows this sabotages the quality of your sleep. Alcohol knocks you out pretty hard and super fast, so your body spends more time early in the night in the deep sleep stage than it otherwise might.

However, your sleep cycle rebounds signaling your brain to keep you in the lighter sleep stage (REM sleep) during the night. So you wake up feeling restless and fatigued than if you skipped the swigs.

Luckily, you don’t need to swear off a drink or two. Limit your drinking and avoid drinking close to bedtime hours.

3. Ditch the double espresso after 2 p.m.

Is your favorite beverage competing with your sleep? Caffeine makes us more alert by blocking chemicals produced in the brain that tell our bodies to sleep- and increasing adrenaline production. This stimulant affects people differently, and that’s why someone can douse two bottles of coke after dinner and sleep soundly while another cannot handle more than one cup of morning coffee.

It’s important to note that caffeine can stay in the bloodstream for up to six hours after you gulp it, which is why you need to limit caffeine in the afternoon and evening hours.

If you’re not having trouble snoozing, you don’t need to cut back on caffeine. But if you want to improve your sleep, when and how much you drink caffeine during the day should be one of the first things to consider.

4. Bounce off the Spicy and High-fat meals

When you devour that greasy burger and fries, you feel tired because the amount of oxygen going to your brain is cut off. People who consume heavy, fatty meals in the evening clock in a few hours of night rest than those who don’t. Be extra cautious if you suffer from acid reflux.

Meals loaded with fats and spices can worsen indigestion and heartburn making you too uncomfortable to fall asleep. Make sure you eat a heavy meal three hours before bedtime.

Heavy fatty and spicy meals are tough on the stomach and slow down digestion.  Opt for light foods like bananas, malt milk, or whole grains. Indigestion before bedtime makes it hard for you to drift off and enjoy quality rest.

5. Read a book – avoid screen time.

Many people find that reading a chapter of a book in their favorite genre calms their evening and facilitates falling asleep. An old-fashioned paper book is better than an e-book which will expose you to blue light that will affect your sleep time by shutting off melatonin the sleep hormone responsible for falling asleep and enjoying quality sleep. Invest in a quality bed rest pillow to improve your reading posture and give you an enjoyable reading experience.

Avoid any screen time from your laptop to televisions and mobile devices. This will help you slumber faster and get a better night’s sleep.

6. Create a consistent sleep schedule and pre-sleep ritual

Research has found that maintaining a bedtime ritual can help improve your sleep. Your routine may include taking a warm bath, meditation, listening to music, reading a book, or a cup of soothing herbal tea to help unwind and relax before sleep.

Also create a comfortable sleep environment that is fresh, dark, and cool. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day to improve your ability to get the restorative sleep you need.

These tips can help you improve your sleep patterns, so you are better rested and ready for a new day. If you continue struggling with getting a good night’s rest, consult your healthcare provider.

7. NO news before bed

Want to get a quick update on world events before you call it a night? Don’t do it. You’ll only risk having an anxious night, especially if traumatizing events jam the news. It can wait until the morning. You will still hear about it but in shorter, manageable bursts.

8. Lockout the noise

If you live in an apartment in the city, you might be aware of traffic, sirens, and dogs barking throughout the night. To block these noises that compromise your sleep you may want to wear plugs at night. Find ones that you are comfortable with.

Alternatively, you could try a white-noise machine or one that plays the sounds of nature like ocean waves, birds,s or whatever soothing sounds. Or purchase a water fountain for your bedroom the soothing running water over rocks may help you drift off to sleep.

Final thought:

Not just sleep but good quality sleep is crucial for you to function as a power horse. Getting good quality sleep seems to be a pipe dream for most people in today’s hectic world. Many individuals are torn between juggling work projects and home tasks. By the end of the day, they are frazzled, unable to fall asleep, and if they do they are too restless during the night to stay shut-eye.

Following these tips will help you wind down your evening and prepare your body and mind for a deeply relaxing rest throughout the night.