Ways To Have a Good Sleep No Matter the Duration.
Ways To Have a Good Sleep No Matter the Duration.
Many people do not realize just how important proper sleep is for their health.
With today’s hectic lifestyle, our society is sleeping less to work more.
Research studies show that depriving the sleep your body needs decreases the quality of your life and decreases your longevity.
Inadequate sleep disrupts health in many ways such as leading to hormonal and metabolism imbalances, accelerated aging, increased onset and severity of type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, memory loss, and more.
Insomnia is an epidemic as 25% of average persons have occasional insomnia and 10% have chronic insomnia.
Here are some helpful guidelines to improve the quality of your sleep, and therefore your health:
You should try to get to bed before 11 p.m.
- Your body performs the majority of its repair and recovery functions during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.
- For example, the gallbladder dumps toxins during this period.
- If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver, which then sends toxins into your bloodstream.
- It is interesting to note that before electricity, people went to bed at sundown as they followed their instinctual biorhythms to arise and retire by the sun.
Seek to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on weekends.
- This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
Sleep in complete darkness or as close to it as possible.
- When light hits the eyes, it disrupts the circadian rhythm of the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and serotonin, disrupting the quality of sleep.
- You can achieve this with blackout blinds, shades, or draperies over the bedroom windows, or with a sleep mask covering the eyes.
Avoid eating right before bedtime as the digestive process can impair sleep.
- Moreover, eating grains and sugars can cause eventual hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which can cause hunger and sleep disturbance.
Avoid T.V. before bed.
- Even better, remove the T.V. from the bedroom. T.V. stimulates the brain, which disrupts the pineal gland, making it harder to fall asleep or sleep well.
- The same holds for the avoidance of reading materials that you find stimulating.
- If you read before bed, opt to read books that are relaxing and peaceful such as spiritual literature.
Wear socks to bed.
- Because feet have the poorest circulation, they tend to feel cold before the rest of the body, which can disrupt your sleep.
Avoid using loud alarm clocks.
- It is very stressful on the body to awaken with a sudden loud noise.
- Ideally, you should sleep until your body naturally awakens, making an alarm clock unnecessary.
- If you need an alarm, use a dawn simulator, which gradually emits light to full intensity over 45 minutes, much like the morning sun.
- It is a gentle awakening that doesn’t startle the adrenals that would begin your day in fight or flight mode.
Before bed, turn the alarm clock face down so you are unable to see the time.
- If you have trouble falling asleep, it will only provoke worry and keep you awake when you keep staring at the time.
Eat a high-protein snack, such as grass-fed beef jerky, several hours before bed.
- This can provide the L-tryptophan needed to produce melatonin and serotonin.
- Also, eat a small piece of fruit or a handful of berries around the same time.
- This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Avoid alcohol.
- Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short-lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep.
- Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of REM sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
Sleep in a comfortable bed.
- If your mattress is sagging, makes creaking noises, or if you wake up with stiffness or back pain, it may be time for a new mattress.
- Chiropractors can be a resource for helping you determine the type of mattress you should sleep on.
- Avoid waterbeds, as they do not properly support the spine.
Avoid foods to which you are sensitive.
- This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may hurt sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas.
Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs.
- Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as rainfall or ocean waves, soothing for sleep.
Don’t do work in your bed or bedroom.
- If you do, you may find it harder to disassociate from work activities when trying to fall asleep.
And also;
If you lie in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful to keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed. This achieves the effect of downloading your disturbing thoughts to paper to clear your mind.
Keep the temperature in the bedroom 60–70 degrees F, as anything warmer can disrupt sleep.
Consider that both prescription and over-the-counter drugs may have negative effects on sleep. Keep your drug use to only what is necessary.
Avoid caffeine and other stimulants, as they can have long-lasting stimulatory effects on the nervous system. Note that some medications, such as over-the-counter pain relievers (e.g. Midol) and diet pills, contain caffeine.
If you tend to wake up at night to urinate, don’t drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed.
Take a hot bath, shower, or sauna for about 30 to 60 minutes before bed. Heat has a relaxing effect on the body.
Exercise helps to burn off stress and clear the mind, but as exercise energizes the body, don’t exercise too close to bedtime.
For most people, seven to nine hours is an ideal amount of sleep, with more people requiring nine hours versus seven.
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