Improve the Quality of Your Sleep

Believe it or not, you really don’t need to worry about tossing and turning on a nightly basis. Think about all of those things that can interfere with you getting a good night’s sleep. Maybe you are under a lot of stress at work, maybe you are worried about the responsibilities that you have with regards to your family. There might be some unexpected challenges that you are facing. It really is no wonder at all that getting good quality sleep can seem like an impossible dream.

You might not be able to have control over the factors that are interfering with the amount of sleep you get, but there are things that you can do that will encourage your sleep to be better. Start trying with these simple tips.

Create an Environment that is Restful

The room that you sleep in needs to be ideal for that sleep. This means it should be dark, cool, and quiet. When you are exposed to light, you can have a hard time getting to sleep. You should also try to stay away from all of those electronic devices right before you go to bed. Think about using shades that are room darkening, along with a fan, earplugs, a memory foam mattress, or other devices in order to create that ideal environment that will suit your needs in regards to sleep. You might also consider doing a few calming activities before you go to bed. Think about things like taking a long, hot, relaxing bath, using some of the relaxation techniques that you can find online, or even a bit of yoga to promote a good night’s sleep.

Reset Your Circadian Clock

If you are unfamiliar with the term ‘circadian clock’, it is the term for an internal biological clock that we all have. It is responsible for regulating quite a few metabolic processes – including sleep. It is easy to get out of whack with your circadian clock. We might stay up late one night and then find that we can’t get to sleep at the usual time the following night. You might eat too much at dinner later than you normally do and this can get you off track too. Any number of things can disrupt your sleep cycle. However, one way you can reset that clock is by spending a weekend communing with nature. In other words, go camping if you want to sleep better. Being out in nature can get you back in tune with your body’s natural processes.

Pay Close Attention to What Goes in Your Mouth

It is never good to go to bed either stuffed to the point of feeling bloated or going to bed hungry. You might want to stay away from large or heavy meals a few hours before you go to bed. The discomfort of being too full might keep you awake. You should also stay away from things like alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine before bed. Caffeine and nicotine, in particular, have stimulating effects that can take a few hours to wear off, and this can wreak havoc with your attempting to sleep. Yes, alcohol might make you feel like you are sleepy, but it can disrupt your sleep during the night.

Create a Schedule and Stick to it

It is a good idea to sleep for no longer than 8 hours at a time. In fact, it is recommended that a healthy adult should get about 7 hours of sleep each night. Most people need no longer than 8 hours of being in bed to achieve 7 hours of sleep. To that end, you should get up and go to bed at the same times each day. Try to put a limit on the difference in your sleeping schedule on the weekend nights that is no more than an hour off your typical sleep schedule. If you are consistent with this schedule, the sleep – wake cycle of your body will be reinforced. If you are in bed and don’t fall asleep in about 20 minutes, you should get up and go to another room in the house to do something to relax yourself. This could be something as simple as listening to some relaxing music or reading a book. When you feel tired, go back to bed.