7 Tips for Healthy Sleeping Habits
Did you know that psychologically, the lack of sleep you get can affect your physical wellness and behavior? When you stay up late, working on a project, on homework, using the internet, eating late, or for any rationale that keeps you awake, the time your body needs to rest is eliminated. Sleeping is often neglected due to some of our bustling schedules or improper habits, but maintaining good sleeping habits is an essential key to wellness. Therefore, sleeping should not be neglected. Here are 7 sleep-related tips on maintaining proper sleeping habits and their impacts on your body.
1. Avoid eating directly before sleeping
Some downsides, according to CDC, of eating right before you head to bed can lead to discomfort, difficulty falling asleep and waking up, nighttime heartburn, and most importantly, it does not provide enough time for your body to digest any food absorbed. Because lying down right after eating can interrupt the process of digestion, it causes discomfort within sleep patterns, often resulting in waking up at nights and feeling drowsy even after sleeping. Lying down after eating also causes nighttime heartburn. In these cases, it is recommended to eat two hours before going to bed so that your body can digest food and get a goodnight sleep. However, if you get hungry, eat a light snack in order to keep your stomach empty or half-empty.
2. Turn your device off 30 minutes before bedtime
Melatonin, the hormone in charge of sleep cycles, is triggered by the use of blue light on devices like phones, computers, and tablets, one reason being due to the blue lighting. When avoiding the usages of these devices, your melatonin levels can increase, signaling your body to relax and fall asleep. However, if this is not done 30 minutes before your desired bedtime, your melatonin decreases, leading to difficulties in falling asleep and not feeling tired. This leads to staying awake and eliminating the rest your body needs. Plan to only use electronics 30 minutes before bedtime to avoid difficulty in sleeping. Unless you cannot fall asleep afterwards, do some sort of light activity, such as reading a book, reading a magazine, listening to music, journaling, meditating, or deep breathing. These activities can clear your mind and can benefit in avoiding worrisome issues and troubled sleep.
3. Stay away from caffeine
Caffeine is an addictive stimulant in a variety of drinks, from coffee, bubble tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, and even chocolate. The drug is found in your nervous system, which increases activity and keeps your mind active. Adding 2 onto that keeps you awake and energized. Indulging in caffeine before going to sleep and during the evening to night prevents your mind from being signaled to rest. This also contributes to more discomfort, as your stomach can be full after consuming chocolate. Consuming caffeinated drinks and chocolates are safer to eat during the morning to late afternoon to promote a better sleep, in addition to keeping you energized during the day. Studies recommend to have the last bits of caffeine 8 hours before going to bed to prevent disruption during your sleep.
4. Limit naps
Napping has a few benefits, such as increasing vigilance, improving mood, easing stress, and boosting memory. However, with these actions becoming daily, this leads to an interference with the sleep you have at night, meaning an increase in exhaustion during the day but being unable to fall asleep at night. This also worsens for those with insomnia or poor sleep quality. Daytime napping is exclusive to if you truly feel tired. If you are feeling sleepy and cannot resist it, take a 20 to 30 minute power nap so you are energized again. Taking a rest can be healthy in a few ways, but make this a limit and avoid napping every day so this does not become an issue with sleep.
5. Keep your environment quiet, cool, and dark (moderately-lit also works)
The same function of melatonin for the usage of tablets at night, your melatonin is also triggered by the exposure to lights, making this one way to struggle falling asleep. Sounds can disrupt the nervous auditory system, causing your hormones to wake you up. In addition, keeping your room temperature at a moderate level can help your body’s regulation. Ensure your area is quiet for you to easily fall asleep, along with keeping the area dark to moderate lighting for melatonin increase. Once again, if you are still unable to fall asleep, do any light activity until you feel tired.
6. Manage stress
Psychological health can lead to poor sleeping habits, and the major cause of poor sleep is stress. The loaded stress is triggering for the nervous response system, making an elevation of cortisol, the stress hormone. When cortisol increases, your sleep quality decreases, being unable to relax. As stress increases, feelings of anxiety, depression, frustration, and sorrow overload, making these emotions difficult to manage. One solution to control this stimulus is journaling, as practicing self-reflection, self-compassion, and mindfulness through this calming activity increases the reduction. Exercising— but not before bed— can also benefit, as it distracts your mind from stress to prioritize your physical health that your mental state impacts. Meditation before bed can help clear your mind to have a good night’s rest. If you have tendencies to sleep with anxiety, depression, or sad thoughts before going to bed, do a light activity or the above to avoid sleep deprivation. In addition, these activities along with taking deep breaths can ease your nervous system and lower cortisol levels.
7. Create a sleep routine
Although routines may not be a favorite or familiar aspect to everyone, creating a sleep routine can increase your wellness. Sleep routines can shape a practice toward the evening for gaining a proper amount of sleep, increasing alertness, making time for your physical and mental wellness, and improving heart health. A sleep routine means keeping the bedtime schedule consistent with the factors required before sleeping. These include:
● Eating two hours before going to sleep
● Doing a light activity before bed (Reading, listening to music, etc.)
● Setting up an alarm to wake up at a consistent time ● Using electronics and TV 30 minutes before bed
● Taking care of personal hygiene (Brushing and flossing teeth, cleanliness)
● Getting 7-8 hours of sleep
When this is maintained daily, this improves your brain performance and aims for the 7-8 hours of sleep as studies recommend. This also benefits in alleviating stress because when a bedtime routine is structured, it allows your mind to be less occupied with worrisome thoughts, both generally and for sleep, leading to better sleep quality and wellness.
The Bottom Line
The lack of healthy sleep habits can risk a decline of rest your body needs for the next day. In order to stay physically and mentally energized, it is important not to overhaul stress and keep organized, proper sleep habits. The list above provides sleeping tips and their benefits, whether you’re adjusting your sleep habits or struggling to understand why your sleep may be uncomfortable. Remember, it can be hard at first to attain these healthy habits, but you know you are able to achieve them, as these tips serve their benefits to you