How To Have A Better Sleep At Night?
Getting 6-8 hours of sleep at night is an ideal amount for most adults. Sleeping too much or too less can have adverse effects on your health.
Think about all the factors that can interfere with a good night's sleep — from work stress and family responsibilities to unexpected challenges, such as illnesses. It's no wonder that quality sleep is sometimes elusive.
While you might not be able to control the factors that interfere with your sleep, you can adopt habits that encourage better sleep. Start with these simple tips.
Healthy Sleeping Tips: 10 Steps To Better Sleep
Following are some tips for regulating better sleep at night:
1. Keep The Same Sleep Schedule
Set aside no more than eight hours for sleep. The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult is at least seven hours. Most people don't need more than eight hours in bed to achieve this goal.
Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Try to limit the difference in your sleep schedule on weeknights and weekends to no more than one hour. Being consistent reinforces your body's sleep-wake cycle.
If you don't fall asleep within about 20 minutes, leave your bedroom and do something relaxing. Read or listen to soothing music. Go back to bed when you're tired. Repeat as needed.
2. Be-careful About Your Food Intake Habits
Don't Go To Bed Hungry Or Stuffed
Don't go to bed hungry or stuffed. In particular, avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Your discomfort might keep you up.
Set Your Meal Timings
Set your meal timings to 2-3 hours before bedtime. And if you are still hungry try a light snack 45-50 minutes before going to bed. Eating big or spicy meals can cause discomfort from indigestion that can make it hard to sleep.
3. Avoid Cigarettes, Nicotine, Caffeine And Alcohol Before Bed:
Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, Nicotine, and other chemicals that interfere with sleep, in the evening hours. Alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine can disrupt sleep.
Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and can wreak havoc on quality sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it can disrupt sleep later in the night.
4. Avoid too Much Fluid Intake in Evening Hours
Avoid drinking too many liquids in the evening hours. As drinking lots of water, juice, tea, or other fluids may result in frequent bathroom trips throughout the night. Caffeinated drinks act as diuretics (promotes the production of urine). This will make your wake again and again and disrupt your sleep. Next morning you will wake up lazy and tired.
5. Make Your Sleeping Environment Comfortable
Below are some steps for making the room environment better for sleep.
Create A Restful Environment
Create a room that's ideal for sleeping. Often, this means cool, dark and quiet. Exposure to light might make it more challenging to fall asleep. Avoid prolonged use of light-emitting screens just before bedtime. Consider using room-darkening shades, earplugs, a fan or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.
Get a Comfortable Bed, Mattress and Pillow
Use comfortable mattress and pillows for sleep. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. Also use comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep.
Select Noiseless Room
The room environment should be relaxing and noiseless. Your bedroom should be cool and there should be no disturbance during sleep. As disturbance and noise could make you wake during sleep and hard to go to sleep again and next morning you will wake up tired and lazy.
Do Calming Activities
Doing calming activities before bedtime, such as taking a bath or using relaxation techniques, might promote better sleep.
Sleeping in better environment will fulfill your sleeping requirement and you will wake up more fresh and active.
6. Set Your Bedroom Temperature
Body and bedroom temperature can also profoundly impact sleep quality.
As you may have experienced during the summer or when on vacation, it can be very hard to get a good night’s sleep when it’s too warm.
- One study found that bedroom temperature affected sleep quality even more than external noise.
- Other studies show that increased body and bedroom temperature can decrease sleep quality and increase wakefulness.
- Around 70°F, or 20°C, seems to be a comfortable temperature for most people, although it always depends on your preferences and what you’re used to.
- Test different temperatures to find out which is most comfortable for you. Around 70°F/20°C seems comfortable for most people.
7. Limit Daytime Naps
Long daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep. If you choose to nap, limit yourself to up to 30 minutes and avoid doing so late in the day.
If you work nights, however, you might need to nap late in the day before work to help make up your sleep debt.
8. Include Physical Activity In Your Daily Routine
Regular physical activity can promote better sleep. Avoid being active too close to bedtime, however.
- Add day time exercise to your daily routine. This smooth your muscles and give you strength. But avoid exercise before bedtime.
- Do daily household work, such as dusting, cleaning, kitchen work, cooking, and grocery.
- Spending time outside every day might be helpful, too.
9. Take A Relaxing Bath Or Shower
A relaxing bath or shower is another popular way to sleep better.
Studies have shown it can improve overall sleep quality and help people fall asleep faster, especially the elderly.
- In one study, a hot bath 90 minutes before bed improved sleep quality and helped participants get greater amounts of deep sleep.
- Alternatively, if you don’t want to take a full bath at night, studies have shown that just bathing your feet in hot water can help you relax and improve sleep.
- A warm bath, shower or foot bath before bed can help you relax and improve your sleep quality.
10. Manage Worries
Try to resolve your worries or concerns before bedtime. Jot down what's on your mind and then set it aside for tomorrow.
Stress management might help. Start with the basics, such as getting organized, setting priorities and delegating tasks. Meditation also can ease anxiety.
Know When To Contact Your Doctor
Nearly everyone has an occasional sleepless night — but if you often have trouble sleeping, contact your doctor. Identifying and treating any underlying causes can help you get the better sleep you deserve.