5 essential lifestyle changes to improve sleep

Collaborative Post | Your nighttime sleep is crucial to your health and well-being. However, poor-quality sleep can take a toll on your body and mind. This article will help you learn how to improve your sleep so that you can get more restorative shut-eye in fewer hours each night! The only factor is not getting the required amount of sleep. To feel relaxed when you wake up, it's also essential to consistently get good sleep. See your doctor if you frequently have trouble falling asleep or wake up feeling fatigued, or buy effective medications from ibuyalprazolam.

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

1. Avoid drinking coffee and alcohol

​Caffeine and alcohol may be what you need to wake up in the morning, but both substances can interfere with your sleep when it's time for bed. Caffeine is a stimulant that sends your body into overdrive, which can cause anxiety and even sleeplessness. Alcohol is also a depressant, so if you're drinking before bedtime thinking it will help you relax or fall asleep faster, think again.

It's best to try not to drink caffeine or alcohol at least six hours before going to sleep; otherwise, an upset stomach could make matters. In addition, smoking can cause sleep apnea, insomnia, headaches and restless legs syndrome. Smoking also impairs your body's ability to produce oxygen at night.

2. Get a good night's sleep

• Sleep in a dark room
• Every night, go to bed at the same time.
• Don't take naps during the day; it may interfere with your sleep cycle and lead to sleeping problems later, like daytime drowsiness.
• Don't eat within 2 hours of going to bed; it will make it harder for your body to fall asleep because of the sudden spike in blood sugar levels after eating. 
• If you have something before bed, try not to eat anything heavy, like cheese or bread, that contains carbohydrates.
• Use blackout curtains or blinds, or invest in an eye mask that blocks out all light.

3. Practice relaxation techniques

• Before you sleep, practice relaxation techniques such as listening to calming music or meditating on a guided mindfulness meditation. You can also do a relaxation exercise like going through the deep breathing exercise from the book The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund Bourne, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Mindfulness Therapy Services in Los Angeles, California. 
• Read before bedtime if you're not tired yet but want something that'll make you sleepy quickly.​  The best way is probably reading your favourite book at night to relax your mind and help relieve stress while preparing yourself for sleep.

4. Ways to improve your nighttime sleep

​A nighttime routine is a series of tasks you should perform before sleeping, such as reading a book or bathing. These are simple things that help you relax and get ready for sleep.

If you fall asleep at the same time every night, try creating an evening routine that includes some form of physical activity like a walk around the block, a yoga class, or even just going outside on your patio for some fresh air should work wonders. Enjoy doing something active before bedtime. It might help if, instead of doing something physical before going to sleep try adding something relaxing like meditation into this routine so that both activities will go hand-in-hand during their respective times in life: one enhancing wakefulness while another helping us fall asleep more smoothly than ever before.

• Develop an escape from electronics at night.
• Avoid the temptation to check your phone.
• Healthily use technology.
• Ensure that your bedroom is dark and cool.
• Don't drink caffeine in the evening.
• Don't eat a big meal late at night.
• Don't exercise too close to bedtime; ensure you're not exercising within a few hours of sleep.
• Try to go to bed at approximately the same time each night (even if it's earlier than usual) so that your body has enough time to fall asleep naturally without any interruptions or distractions from electronics before they take over your mind, causing anxiety or stress levels that could disrupt restful sleep cycles.
• Consume lunch every day at the same time.
• Eat breakfast at the same time every day, even if you don't have to be up in time for work in the morning.

5. Get some sunlight

​Sunlight is a natural stimulant that helps regulate your circadian rhythm in which your body's biological clock is set. For example, if you don't get enough sunlight during the day, it can cause your body to go into overdrive and try to keep up with its schedule by sleeping more deeply or staying awake all night.

This isn't just true for humans; many animals, like bears, have evolved to rely on outdoor light exposure during the day as part of their daily routine. Even when we're not technically "outdoors," we still need some kind of stimulation from the sun to reset our internal clocks after spending time indoors or travelling around. Studies show that people who get more sleep at night tend to wake up feeling happier and less anxious than those who keep waking up at 3 am every morning because they didn't get enough rest.

Conclusion

The key to improving your nighttime sleep is to make small changes that will significantly affect your life. The first thing you need to do is to stop drinking coffee and alcohol, which can disrupt your sleep patterns or cause you to wake up in the middle of the night. You should also try out total darkness before bedtime to help you fall asleep more quickly and stay asleep longer at night.


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Disclaimer: this is a collaborative post.