Going through the day without getting any sleep the night before is a surreal experience. Especially after an all – nighter. It’s kind of a fun feeling. But if you want to have any bit of productivity and success in your life. Sleep is a necessity. It can be hard to completely change your life around sleep. So here are some small ways to build better sleep.
Why is Sleep Important?
Everybody knows the crappy feeling of not getting enough sleep. But do we really know what sleep effects? Sleep is just as important as food, water, and exercising. It replenishes the body, giving us energy for the upcoming day. Not getting enough sleep can lead to short term changes like bad mood and inability to focus. But in the long-term, insufficient sleep can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and a plethora of other pernicious problems.
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Post About Other Great Habits to Start
Small Habits to Build Better Sleep
Increase Bright Light During the Day
•Your body is set to a clock that tells it when to create melatonin for sleep or prepare for the day.
•Seeing sunlight during the day will let it know that it’s daytime, making sure it’s on the correct schedule so you’re tired at 9:00 pm, not 2:00 pm. Lots of sunlight or bright light will lead to a better sleep.
Comfortable Bedroom Environment
•The amount of light allowed into the room (keep it dark at night).
•Eliminate the use of devices in the bedroom.
•If possible purchase black-out curtains.
•Keep outside noise to a minimum (if not possible get a white noise machine or play relaxing music).
•Fill your room with relaxing smells.
•Keep the temperature between 60 and 71 degrees.
Relax Before Bedtime
•Read before bed (but not in bed).
•Prayer or Meditation
•Soothing Music
•Bath or Shower
•Visualization
Exercise During the Day
•Exercising during the day results in falling asleep in almost half of the time.
•Reduces total time awake at night by nearly 30%.
•Anxiety by 15%.
•Improving sleep time by 18%.
Exercise is great and tires you out, making it a lot easier to fall asleep at night. But make sure not to exercise too close to bedtime. Because it stimulates your body a little too much for sleep.
Don’t Use Bed for Anything Else
•Only use the bedroom for Sleep and Sex.
When it comes to habits, the deadliest part, is the Cue. This is when you look at something and it immediately begins your craving to do said habit. If you scroll through Tik Tok on your bed, you’ll find yourself scrolling through it at 11 pm. Or maybe you do your homework in your bed, you’ll end up with the urge to do your homework at night. Keep your bedroom or at least the bed for Sleep and Sex only.
Avoid Caffeine
•Don’t drink coffee or take caffeine near your normal bedtime. Doing this will lead to better sleep, reduced amount of time it takes to fall asleep, and quality of sleep.
Caffeine is something that’s probably best not to have in the first place since building up an addiction can be really difficult to break. After having coffee it is extremely difficult to feel good without it. You feel drowsy and unmotivated to do anything with your time. So it’s best not to have it. But if you are a coffee connoisseur and refuse to quit. Keep it away from bedtime.
How To Fall Asleep Faster
The Military Method
First: Relax the entire face (every part from the eyes to the mouth).
Second 2: Relax any tension in the body.
Third: Exhale and relax your chest.
Fourth: Then relax each muscle in your leg starting from one muscle group down.
Fifth: Focus on breathing or a calming image.
Peaceful Noise
Sleeping is all about relaxing the body and mind. A lot of music and sound streaming services allow you to put a timer on how long the music will go. Put on music that relaxes you like white noise or classical music. My favorite white noise sound would be a tropical thunderstorm.
Guieded Imagery
Find a quiet spot with little to no distractions and comfortable for you. You will begin by sitting or laying down. Close your eyes and begin focusing on your breaths. Imagine a peaceful scene. My scene would be a strange beautiful planet to explore. Imagine all the details in the scene and light up all your senses. Put yourself right in the middle of it all. Keep yourself in the scene until you feel calm.
Conclusion
A lot of these changes and habits seem really small and insignificant. But when repeated over and over again. Or built upon each other you’ll begin to see a big difference in your quality of sleep.