5 WAYS TO BETTER SLEEP

A healthy cycle of sleep is right up there among factors that affect our general health and emotional well being. In this article, we will see five ways in which all of us can achieve a better quality of sleep, and therefore life.

Sleep is perhaps the most mysterious and most important part of being a healthy human being. We don’t know why animals sleep, why they enact this pretence of death for hours every day. But we do know that people who sleep well are healthier and live a better quality of life than those who don’t.

There are many different factors that interfere with our quality of sleep – from pressure at work to a physical ailment – so here are five steps you can take to sleep better.

1. Have a sleep schedule
Go to bed at the same time, even on weekends, holidays and days off. By being consistent with your time, your body’s sleep-wake cycle gets reinforced and the quality of sleep goes up. However, if you don’t fall asleep within fifteen minutes of lying down, get up, do something relaxing, and go back to bed when you feel tired.

2. Watch what you consume
Go easy on alcohol if you have sleep troubles. While alcohol may make you drowsy and put you to sleep quickly, it will wake you up later in the night and overall give you a disturbed night. Also ensure that you don’t go to bed either stuffed or hungry. Aim to hit the sack after a good ninety minutes or so after your dinner.

3. How about a bedtime ritual?
Do the same things every night before you fall asleep. This will act as a cue to your body that it is about to shut down. These can be things like taking a shower, listening to soothing music, reading a book, telling a story to a loved one etc.

4. Get comfortable in your sleeping room
The room in which you sleep should be ideal for shut-eye. This means it should be quiet, cool and dark. Consider using darkening shades, earplugs and other devices to create the atmosphere you need to fall asleep.

5. Limit daytime naps
If you must nap during the day, make it a short one, like ten to thirty minutes long. Long daytime naps can interfere with night time sleep, especially if you already struggle with insomnia. If you work at nights, of course you will make an exception to the rule, and prevent taking night time naps.