Sleep is one of the most important things that you do each day. However, so many people neglect their sleep under the false notion that it’s something that can easily be caught up on or squeezed in when you have a few hours to spare. But if you want to live a happy and productive life, you have to get enough sleep.
Even if you do carve out enough time in your day to get adequate sleep, there are still things that can make your sleep be of a lower quality. So to help you address any of these issues, here are three things you can try that will help you to have a better night’s sleep tonight.
Prepare For Sleep In The Afternoon
If you really want to get good sleep at night, it takes some real preparation during the day. The things that you do throughout your day, and especially in the late afternoon and evening, can have a big impact on your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep each night.
According to Melinda Smith, Lawrence Robinson, and Robert Segal, contributors to HelpGuide.org, you should be extra careful with what you eat and drink in the few hours leading up to going to bed. Try to keep your caffeine intake to a minimum, your meals light and easy on things like sugar and refined carbs, and your consumption of liquids—especially alcohol—low. All of these things can make it hard for your body to relax and get good sleep, so break these habits if you have them.
Create A Ritual For Yourself
Just like how babies need a bedtime ritual to help signal for them that it’s time to go to sleep, adults can benefit from this as well.
Depending on what you need to sleep, be it a clean face or a retainer for your teeth, you should try to have the set up of these items taken care of in your sleep ritual. According to the National Sleep Foundation, you can and should also add things to your sleep ritual that will help you relax and be calm, like listening to soft music, turning the lights down low in the hour leading up to sleep, and taking your mind off things like work or other personal issues.
Keep Blue Light Exposure Down In The Evening
One thing that almost everyone is exposed to that can make it very hard to fall asleep and stay asleep is blue light. Blue light comes from things like the electronics that are likely in front of your face for a majority of your day. Because of this, it’s important to give yourself a break from these things before getting ready for bed.
Rudy Mawer, a contributor to Healthline.com, shares that in order to block blue light from your eyes and body, you can try things like wearing special glasses in the evening, using apps that block blue light, or simply turning off your devices and other bright lights during the last hour or two of your day.
If you’re wanting to get better sleep, consider using the tips mentioned above to show you how you can do just that.
To read more on topics like this, check out the health category.
