Sleep isn’t beneficial to your body if it’s not of the right quality and quantity. That being said, effort must be put in place to ensure that you sleep according to the recommended number of hours. Above that, your lifestyle and day to day activities should be able to support your sleep needs to the fullest.
Expert advice has is that there are a good number of healthy sleep habits that one needs to put in place if they are to achieve peak sleep.
Let’s get down to what each of these habits means for your sleep health. Here is a quick overview of the factors that determine the quality and quantity of sleep you get daily.
- Eating the right foods
- Exercising
- Avoid the use of alcohol
- Make your bedroom conducive for sleep
- Get a regular dose of sunlight
- Stick to a regular wake time and sleep time
- Time your caffeine consumption right
Eating the right foods
Eating a balanced diet entails the consumption of a wide range of foods. These foods should vary in their nutrient capacity and levels. Foods you should eat for a balanced diet include Carbohydrates, a variety of nutrients and fats.
Adequate consumption of these foods has been linked to the right sleep durations. Studies in the past have linked lifestyle habits and the type of foods you eat in determining the quality and quantity of sleep.
According to data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,people who slept for longer hours tended to eat less variety of foods. Compared to normal sleepers, their diets were also lower in nutrients.
For maximum results with foods, work on diversity. Consume a range of proteins, fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts. This way, your body is able to get filled with the right amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients for better sleep.
Exercising
According to a study by Northwestern Medicine, aerobic exercises have been found to aid sleep in middle-aged adults as well as the old. Aerobic exercises are not only beneficial in supporting healthy sleep patterns but also help to cure insomnia.
According to the study, participants who exercised four times in a week carrying out one 30 to 40-minute session daily registered a significant improvement in their sleep quality. They went from being poor sleepers to good sleepers.
According to a medical expert on sleep matters at the facility, Dr. Zee, exercises have a profound effect on your wellbeing. Apart from improving your sleep patterns, they help you with weight management, cardiovascular diseases and metabolism.
Avoid the use of alcohol
According to NHANES data, people who sleep for long hours tend to consume more alcohol than people who slept normally. A different study on the same subject also found out that long sleepers are likely to use alcohol as a sleep inducer.
Continued use of alcohol on your body to induce sleep could have serious ramifications on your overall health. Alcohol should also be avoided a few hours to bedtime. It distorts your sleep patterns interfering with your sleep stages.
Sleep has cycles that the body has to go through when resting. When you take alcohol some few hours before sleeping, it disrupts both Non-REM and REM sleep, including various hormones and neurotransmitters. A less restorative rest makes you want to sleep longer while reducing body activity.
Make your bedroom conducive for sleep
Your sleep environment greatly affects your sleep patterns. Factors to look at in your bedroom include your comfort, lights, sounds and temperatures.
When it comes to comfort, your mattress could make or break your sleep. If your mattress is causing you any kind of discomfort or pain, you need to consider changing it. You also want to make sure you are using a pillow that supports your spinal aligning. That’s why you need to check my pillow reviews to stay informed.
One other factor that you need to pay attention to while in your bedroom is the amount of lighting. A dark room supports the release of melatonin, the hormone responsible for sleep. It’s advisable to switch off all sources of blue light in your house an hour before bedtime. An eye mask could prove handy if living in an area that is well-lit.
A cool room temperature supports a conducive environment to sleep. Your bedroom temperatures should be slightly below room temperature. Make sure to buy sleeping materials that support cool temperatures for a conducive sleep. Materials such as cotton, smart fibers and wool are known to create a balanced body temperature that is conducive for sleep.
You also want to make sure that your bedroom is less noisy and can provide you with a quiet environment for conducive sleep.
Get a regular dose of sunlight
Sunlight helps to support your circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is the body’s natural clock system that controls the release of neurotransmitter and hormones that are responsible for sleeping and staying awake.
Exposing yourself to the wrong environment that is not supportive of sleep could have a negative impact on your circadian rhythm. Like for instance, blue light at night.
It’s important to expose your body to the direct sunlight in the early hours of the morning. Sunlight comes with Vitamin D that supports the release of Melatonin hormone. Sunlight in the morning is also important for your circadian rhythm.
Stick to a regular wake time and sleep time
A consistent sleep pattern is what helps your natural body clock to maintain its natural rhythm. Make sure to go to bed at the same time every day and also wake up at the same time daily.
If your sleep patterns are irregular, your body tends to throw off rest. This makes it hard for you to sleep during the night carrying your sleepover to the next day.
With a regular sleep pattern, your body adapts to the natural flow of things making you more of a heavy sleeper during the night while staying awake during the day.
Time your caffeine consumption right
For the best quality sleep, you want to limit the consumption of caffeine content at night. Caffeine content in your body some few hours to bed is a big no.
Its effects on your body could last up to 12 hours making you fail to get sleep completely. To sleep well, limit caffeine consumption to before middays or just after waking up.
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