9 Tips That Will Help You Get Quality Sleep

It is established that good sleep is essential to our mental and physical health. Good sleep is just as important as a healthy diet and regular exercise. But notwithstanding its importance, quality sleep is elusive to many people.

Though many factors always deprive people of quality sleep, experts have revealed habits you can adopt and enjoy better sleep. You will need nothing less than quality sleep from family responsibilities and work stress.

These nine simple habits will help you have a quality sleep:

Create a Comfortable Bedroom

Falling asleep quickly is the desire of any person who gets to their bed and wants to forget about the stress of this life. Comfort and relaxation are key requirements for falling asleep within a few minutes.

This may look obvious, but having an uncomfortable bedroom is a major distraction to a peaceful sleep.

When making your sleeping room, focus on minimizing distraction and maximizing comfort with these important tips:

• Only buy a High-Performance Mattress and Pillow: The best mattress suitable for your preferences and needs guarantees maximum comfort and relaxation. The best pillow will support your spine to avoid pains and aches.
• Buy Quality Bedding: Your Blankets and sheet are vital in ensuring that your bed is welcoming. Look for bedding that offers comfortable touch and maintains a favorable temperature during sleep. Good bedding will protect you from cold, a notorious distractor to sleep.

Create a Sleep Schedule and Stick to it

Managing your daily sleep schedule is one incredible move towards achieving quality sleep. It will help if you find ways of harnessing your sleeping schedule. Ensure that you set aside at most eight hours of sleep. An adult is recommended to have at least seven hours of sleep.

Not all people will require more than eight hours to be well rested. However, having a fixed sleeping schedule that will guide you always, including weekends, is essential. Staying consistent with your plan will reinforce and make your body adapt to the sleep-wake circle.

If within 20 minutes you don’t fall asleep, you must begin doing something relaxing. You can either listen to cool soothing music or read a book. When you get tired, you can walk back to your bed. Repeat this procedure as frequently as possible to maintain your sleeping schedule without violating the wake-up time.

These are optimized sleep schedules that you should observe:

• Fix a Wake-Up Alarm: It is almost impossible for your body to get used to a healthy sleeping pattern if you always wake up at different hours. Set a wake-up time and stick to it even when you feel like oversleeping.
• Budget Your Sleeping Time: If you want to have the recommended sleeping time per night, you must set up your schedule. Consider fixing your bedtime and your wake-up time. You can go to bed before your specified time to prepare to fall asleep at the most appropriate time.
• Avoid Day Tim Naps: For you to sleep better at night, it is essential to be careful with naps. Taking a long time day nap can throw away the desire to sleep at night when you need it most. The best nap with minimum effects is in the early afternoon and must not exceed 20 minutes.

Check on Your Diet (What You Drink and Eat)

A healthy eating lifestyle can improve sleep generally. Some foods such as pumpkin seed, milk, turkey, and chicken contain serotonin and tryptophan chemicals responsible for producing melatonin, hormones that enhance good sleep.

There are also some drinks and foods that make you lose sleep. Foods or drinks that contain alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine have stimulating effects that can take a few hours before wearing out – interfering with sleep. Inasmuch as alcohol might make you feel drowsy, and it might still disrupt you later in the middle of the night.

It is not recommendable that you go to bed on an empty stomach. In particular, you must avoid large or heavy meals a few hours before bedtime. Discomfort may keep you awake for hours before you fall asleep.

Control Your Light and Sound Exposure

Light and sound are environmental factors that have a huge potential to impact the quality of your sleep. You have to minimize these two within your bedroom for a night of better sleep.

If you are not used to sleeping when lights are on, you can switch them off. Lights, especially bright ones, can reduce your circadian rhythm and sleep.

The lights might come from your neighbors, a passing vehicle, or an estate street lights – you should then consider having blackout curtains spread over your windows.

Darkness has an impact on melatonin, a natural hormone that is responsible for calming and has sleepy effects. When in darkness, your brain releases melatonin, making you feel sleepy – but in light, the secretion is less, making you more alert and awake.

However, knowing that you should only minimize light during bedtime is good. Natural sunlight during the day will contribute healthily to your circadian rhythm.

Exposure to daytime light will keep you healthy and contribute to quality sleep at night. People with insomnia can experience great improvement in their sleep when exposed o daytime light.

Stay Away from Technology

As you prepare to go to bed, one thing that you should stay away from is technology. It would be best to ban using a smartphone, TV, or computer from your bedroom.

You should avoid staring at these devices for approximately one hour before you get to your bed. These devices always emit a blue light capable of suppressing the melatonin hormone responsible for inducing sleep.

Avoid Clock Watching

Worrying about whether you will get enough sleep can also stop you from sleeping. The best way to solve this challenge is by resting in bed and having more productive thoughts – than turning and tossing while looking at the clock all the time.

If you find it difficult to stop looking at your clock, try putting it away in the other room or place it away from your sight so that you may avoid watching as it slowly ticks away.

Be determined only to have a quality sleep

We pay more attention to how long we can sleep, but the most important thing is sleep quality. A night, there are five sleep stages that we get through, which are in a circle.

In the later stage of the circle, our memories are usually consolidated, and a procession of information takes place. During this time of the night, sleep can be interrupted, for example, when you get up to go to the loo.

The interruption may not allow you to reach the final stages leading to poor sleep quality. For this reason, it is best to avoid taking a lot of fluids.

Get Active and Keep Fit

Physical activities will boost your sleeping habits and make you healthy. However, this may not work with some people who find sleeping difficult after vigorous exercise two hours before bedtime. But if it is not a problem for you, then there is no need for a change.

Continue exercising and keeping fit.

Most people spend much time dieting and exercising while forgetting the benefits of sleep, which completes the whole triangle.

Talk to Your Doctor

Your doctor is the best person to consult for more detailed advice when your sleeplessness persists. People who experience difficulties sleeping may also suffer from other health conditions needing a doctor’s attention.

Diseases are the lead disruptors of peaceful and quality sleep.

The lead sleep disruptors are the urge to change position by moving your hands and legs, a painful throat, chest, and stomach, and snoring.

To the list, you also have gastroesophageal reflux or GERD, sleep apnea, and leg syndrome. If you are experiencing a lack of sleep due to these health complications, it is best to visit your doctor.

The Bottom Line

If you want to achieve incredible well-being and optimal health, you must prioritize sleep and incorporate most of the above tips.