Making changes to your diet and lifestyle helps to improve sleep quality. Certain supplements and natural remedies prove to be beneficial. A good night sleep is just as important as regular exercise and a healthy diet. Poor sleep has negative effects on your hormones exercise performance, and brain function. It also causes weight gain and increases disease risk in both adults and children. In contrast, good sleep helps you eat less, exercise better, and be healthier.
What Are 7 Tips To Improve Sleep?
In order to optimize your health or lose weight, getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do.
1. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol before bed
Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol all have a negative impact on the sleep cycle. Caffeine is a stimulant, but it lasts longer than you think. It is recommended to avoid caffeine consumption for 6-8 hours before bedtime. The effect of nicotine on sleep is deceitful. Nicotine disrupts sleep cycle and increases the risk of developing sleeping disorders, but it is also a stimulant. While alcohol does promote the onset of sleep, it also disrupts the normal sleep patterns and it is recommended to avoid alcohol at least four hours before going to bed.
2. Be wary of sleeping pills
Regularly intake of sleeping pills tend to lose their effectiveness in 2-4 weeks. With time, sleeping pills actually worsen and lead to chronic sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. Sleeping pills provoke a rebound of insomnia, so it is best to take them on an occasional and as-needed basis.
3. Pay attention to what you eat and drink
Don't go to bed hungry or stuffed. In particular, avoid heavy meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Discomfort might keep you up. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and interfere with sleep. And even though alcohol makes you feel sleepy at first, it disrupts sleep later at night.
4. Limit daytime naps
Long daytime naps interfere with night-time sleep. Limit naps to not more than one hour and avoid napping late in the day. If you work late nights, you might need to nap late in the day before work to help make up your sleep debt.
5. Put away your phone
Exposure to blue light powerfully suppresses the secretion of melatonin, which negatively affects the sleep cycle. To combat the effects of blue light, try to put away all the electronic devices 1-2 hours before bed. It is recommended to use dim red lights for night lights and invest in blue light filter glasses, and expose yourself to bright light during the day to help sleep better at night.
6. Try to sleep and wake up at consistent times
The body’s circadian rhythm functions on a set loop, aligning itself with sunrise and sunset. Being consistent with the sleep and waking times helps with long-term sleep quality.
People who have irregular sleeping patterns and go to bed late on the weekends tend to have poor sleep. The irregular sleep patterns alter the circadian rhythm and levels of melatonin, which signal the brain to sleep. If struggling with sleep, try getting in the habit of waking up and going to bed at similar times. And after several weeks, you may not even need an alarm.
7. Exercise
Exercise cure multitude of ailments, one of then being poor sleep quality. Exercise not only releases extra energy from the body, but also proves to be a stress reducer. In addition, when you workout, your body temperature naturally rises. Several hours later when body temperature drops, it creates a sense of drowsiness, which supports falling asleep.
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