Sleep is an important part of living. It helps to recharge and heal our body and mind after a long day of work or activities and there are many ways in which you can help yourself to receive better sleep. However, a lot of us don’t realise the importance of sleep and how getting too much, too little, or bad quality of sleep affects us.
Why is sleep important?
Sleep affects and controls a huge amount of your life based on the quality and how much or little you get of it. It affects people’s moods, physical health, mental health, and metabolism along with many other areas. While getting a recommended 7-8 hours of sleep is ideal, it isn’t always possible or even what is optimal for each individual. What you do need to be mindful of though is the quality of your sleep. Some people who sleep for 5-6 hours with good quality sleep can often feel better than those who have 8-9 hours of broken or restless sleep. Here are a few tips on how you can get better sleep, and in the process improve your health.
Create a sleeping schedule
Going to sleep and waking up at the same time has been shown to greatly improve the quality of sleep that people receive. However, this can be tricky to achieve for many reasons such as your work rota, night shift work, appointments, events, child care, and personal discipline. Although there are several barriers that might make this hard to do, the rewards of pushing through and sticking to a good sleep schedule are worth it, and over time like with any habit it will become easier and more natural to stick to.
Try not to nap for long periods of time
While studies show that having a nap can have benefits, this is only under certain scenarios. Generally, when people say that they are going to have a nap, they mean that they are going to fall asleep for an unspecified amount of time because they are tired (probably from several nights of bad sleep). This will then cause a negative sleeping schedule. If a nap is required, try to set an alarm for no longer than 20-30 minutes so as to not oversleep and confuse your body before it is time to sleep for the night.
Try to add a form of exercise to your day
Some people will have active jobs, and these people will likely know the feeling of getting home from a long day at work, taking their shoes off and sitting down while looking forward to getting to bed. But a large portion of the population have sedentary jobs, and can often feel restless or uncomfortable when getting home and trying to relax. This is because our bodies need to exercise to burn off stored energy, and if this is not done it can impact how fast, deep and well we sleep. So, if you find yourself feeling fidgety, restless or uncomfortable and you know that your office job doesn’t allow you to be very active during the day, consider how you can add some exercise into your day. It could be a walk at lunch or an alternative way of getting to and from work, and of course, there is always the option of joining a gym.
Use the right kind of mattress for your sleep and body type
What you are sleeping on is a very important topic as this can greatly impact the quality of your sleep. A lot of back and body pain or morning stiffness can actually be caused just by sleeping on the wrong type of mattress. Luckily there are several different mattresses available from soft squishy ones to firmer ones, pocket sprung or memory foam, and there is no “best” mattress to buy as they all have different pros and cons.
Alternative methods
If you have tried the more mainstream ways of promoting better sleep, then you could consider trying alternative methods to help get more sleep. A few of these options include drinking teas or spraying essential oils with lavender and chamomile to help relax your body and mind. You can also try THC products such as Delta 9 THC Gummies which at lower doses can reduce sleep onset latency helping you to fall asleep faster.
If you feel like you have trouble sleeping and have tried many different methods with no positive results, then you can always contact your doctor to see if there are any other suggestions or help and support available to you.
