Sleep is so good for us because our bodies restore themselves while we rest. When we are not getting enough it can be an absolute nightmare. Our bodies don’t get the chance to fully recover from the stresses we put them through during the day and it can mix up our hormone levels, leaving us feeling dreadful. Luckily, it is possible to improve your sleep so that you don’t have to put up with that awful feeling that not getting enough rest leaves you with. Here are 5 top tips from the experts to get you started.
- Don’t expose yourself to bright lights within 1-2 hours of going to bed.
Bright lights can play havoc with sleep routines because they can cause the brain to think it’s daytime, which prompts it to stop producing sleep hormones. Try and avoid them for 1-2 hours before going to bed so that your hormones can get to work in helping you fall asleep quickly. You should also limit the use of screens because they emit a blue light that makes falling asleep difficult too.
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every night
Getting into a sleep routine is extremely important for your body. If you go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day your body will gradually understand what is expected of it. It will help you fall asleep quicker but not only that, it will help you stay asleep until the time when you normally rise. You should also take a look at your mattress. Is it comfortable enough to get you through the night? Take a look at the year’s best mattress and see if that might be better for you.
- Exercise early in the morning outside if possible
Exercising early in the morning ensures that you are tired when it is time to go to bed in the evening. It can be tempting to stay in bed longer and exercise in the evening after work instead. Whilst getting the exercise is still good, doing it in the evening can disturb your sleep routine because you release endorphins during an activity that could keep you awake if doing it to close to bedtime. Either way, you need to keep hydrated if you are exercising. Take a look at our blog post about how to keep yourself hydrated.
- Respect your tendency to go to bed earlier or later
This is all about building up that routine. If you go to bed early then respect that. Build it into your life that this is what you need to do and try and avoid late nights. Likewise, if you are a night owl understand that it’s OK for you to stay up because that works for you.
- Limit your naps to 20 minutes at the most
If you are not sleeping well, taking a nap can be really tempting. Sleeping too long, however, can disturb your sleep in the evening and can put you into a cycle where you don’t sleep well at night but need a nap to get you through the day. Avoid napping as much as you can and you should sleep better in the evenings.
