10 Tips to have better sleep at night
Having a good quality sleep at night is very essential for your body and mind to stay active and energetic in the daytime.
But the quality and quantity of sleep is declining for many individuals over the years.
Elder people find it hard to fall asleep quickly and have good quality sleep. This condition is called Insomnia. It is a condition in which an individual finds it hard to fall asleep.
It is not only seen in elderly people, it is also common in people with stress and having some health-related problems.
There are many reasons for developing this condition, in this article let’s discuss some tips which can help you to fall asleep quickly.
Exercising
Exercising provides many benefits to our health. Similarly, it helps to sleep better at night also.
Exercise helps in reducing your stress and anxiety and helps you in having good quality sleep.
But it’s recommended to exercise in the mornings or at least 4 or 5 hours before going to bed. This is because of the stimulating effects that exercising has on our bodies.
Exercise helps you to stay active and stimulates your alertness and helps in the production of some hormones like adrenaline and epinephrine.
But to fall asleep, your body should release Melatonin which helps you to relax and sleep. Some individuals may not find such problems. So, it depends upon the individual’s choice.
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Exposure to sunlight
Studies have shown that people who were exposed to sunlight for at least two hours have found to have increased their quality and quantity of sleep.
Natural sunlight can help you keep your circadian rhythm healthy. Circadian Rhythm acts as the internal clock of your body.
Your body keeps a track of the time and releases certain hormones to facilitate your sleep and awakeness according to the light of day.
So, exposure to sunlight helps in keeping track of your circadian rhythm. This significantly shows improvement in people suffering from serious sleep issues and insomnia (inability to sleep).
Reduce blue light exposure before sleep
Like sunlight helps in promoting sleep at night, blue light exposure before going to bed can cause sleep problems.
Blue light is the rays emitted from the TV, smartphone, computer, and all sorts of digital screens.
These rays disturb the quality of your sleep. It is because when your eyes are receiving a lot of blue light, your brain remains in an illusion that it is still daytime and thus disturbing your circadian rhythm.
So, your brain does not release some hormones like melatonin due to which you don’t fall asleep quickly. Melatonin is a hormone that reduces stress and relaxes your body helping you to fall asleep.
It’s recommended to not expose yourself to blue light at least 2 hours before going to bed.
Maintain a good bedroom environment
A bedroom with dim lights, less noise, and a cozy environment can help you improve your sleep quality and to fall asleep quickly.
Some optimum conditions in your bedroom can promote your sleep. You’re more likely to fall asleep if your bedroom is clean, have moderate temperature, and less disturbance.
It is recommended not to use your bed to work or watch TV. Try to make it a habit of using your bed to only sleep or take rest. This can train your mind that the bed is only meant to sleep.
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Reduce your caffeine consumption
Caffeine acts as a stimulant and improves your alertness. So consuming too much caffeine can disturb your sleep patterns.
It is recommended to not consume caffeine at least 6 hours before going to bed. It is because caffeine lasts for at least 6 – 8 hours in your blood.
Caffeine consumption affects people, especially those who have poor sleeping habits and people with Insomnia.
Some of the foods which contain caffeine are coffee, chocolates, etc. You can try having decaffeinated coffee if you have a habit of drinking coffee daily.
Avoid Long naps during the day
Having long naps in the daytime can disturb your circadian rhythm. It can confuse your daytime with nighttime and may cause difficulty in falling asleep at night.
On the contrary, taking power naps (short naps less than 30 minutes) can improve your concentration and alertness.
Taking long naps can make you feel even drowsy after waking up from sleep.
So, it is advisable to take short naps at regular intervals, if you want to take a rest during the day.
Try maintaining your Circadian Rhythms
Try to maintain proper Circadian Rhythms by maintaining the same sleep and waking up times every day.
This can ensure you have good quality sleep. Your body naturally adjusts itself to sleeping and waking up cycles according to your daily routine. So, try to stick to a routine.
Avoid constitution of Alcohol
Surprisingly, consuming alcohol can also disturb your sleep quality. Although alcohol consumption makes you feel drowsy, studies have shown that alcohol can decrease your sleep quality.
So, it is not at all advisable to have alcohol before sleep if you are suffering from insomnia.
Avoid having heavy dinner
A full and heavy stomach is also problematic in helping you to sleep. Studies have shown that having a low-carb diet as dinner helped them in having good sleep.
If at all, you would like to have a heavy carb diet as dinner, try to have at least 3-4 hours before going to bed. In this case, your food will get half-digested by the time you go to bed.
If at all you feel hungry sometimes before going to bed, consider having a light snack. You can consume a light snack like a few slices of apple, cucumber, or some crackers.
Try to avoid citrus fruits or spicy foods which can again result in heartburn during the sleep which in turn disturbs your sleep quality.
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Make a nighttime routine
Your stress piles up at the end of the day because of all the work since morning. Stress is not good for sleep and doesn’t cooperate in the secretion of certain hormones which helps you to fall asleep.
Hence maintaining a nighttime routine helps you in having good quality sleep. Practicing a routine trains your mind for sleep at bedtime.
You can follow some self-care and relaxation techniques like taking a shower, reading a book, or listening to pleasant music.
