Sleep well!
A good night's sleep is just as essential to our well-being as a healthy diet and exercise. Yet studies show that over the past 20 years, we have started sleeping less. Here are 10 tips for a better night's sleep:
- Make sleep a pleasure—something you look forward to and enjoy. Sleep takes up a third of your life and has a significant impact on the other two-thirds. Sleep isn’t something you just have to get through or reluctantly accept.
- Try to get 7–8 hours of sleep every night. Make sure to set aside enough time for sleep, even if you’re busy or there’s a good movie on TV. Sleep strengthens both your body and your mind because growth hormone production increases during deep sleep, and stress hormone levels decrease.
- Create a good sleeping environment. A good mattress, a dark, quiet, and cool bedroom, and no disruptive pets in bed. Use earplugs and a sleep mask or install blackout curtains if you’re bothered by noise and light. The bedroom and the bed are only for sleep and sex. The bedroom shouldn’t make you think about all sorts of other things, so it shouldn’t also serve as a TV room, home office, or similar.
- Give yourself time to wind down and relax for at least an hour before going to bed. Unwind with something pleasant and soothing, such as quiet music, reading, a warm bath, or meditation. It can also help to dim the lights late in the evening.
- Avoid caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea, cola, or energy drinks after 4:00 p.m. Limit your alcohol intake and avoid smoking, as these can also disrupt your sleep.
- Maintain a regular sleep schedule. Get up at a set time and go to bed at a set time. You can quickly develop a delayed sleep schedule by getting up later and going to bed later. And then it becomes harder and harder to get back to your normal sleep schedule.
- Remember to get some exercise! It’s best to get your heart rate up at least once a day. This not only helps you sleep better, but also boosts your physical and mental health.
- Don’t go to bed either hungry or too full. Stable blood sugar levels help ensure a peaceful, undisturbed sleep.
- Avoid taking your worries to bed with you. Set aside time in the evening to write down your worries and suggested solutions in a journal if you often find yourself plagued by racing thoughts and restlessness when you try to sleep. It can also be helpful to learn a relaxation technique to calm yourself down. This could include mindfulness or breathing exercises.
- Sleep aids should be avoided whenever possible and reserved for specific situations where grief, illness, stress, or severe anxiety prevent sleep. Long-term use of sleep aids can trigger depression. Some people lack sufficient amounts of the naturally occurring, sleep-promoting hormone melatonin and may therefore benefit from a supplement, such as older adults, people who work night shifts, or those experiencing jet lag. Melatonin supplements are available by prescription. Melatonin differs from traditional sleep aids in that it does not cause dependence or carry a risk of abuse.
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Are you struggling with sleep-related issues? Then read our post on how to sleep to avoid sleep-related issues.
