6 Tips to Sleep Better

Do you have a hard time sleeping? Several factors can affect the way you perform activities throughout your life, and a bad night’s sleep interferes much more than you think.

A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 35.2% of adults in the U.S. sleep on average less than 7 hours a night. So, we’ll share some facts about sleep hygiene that can help you improve your rest.

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What Happens when You Sleep Poorly?

In addition to affecting your mood and energy levels, sleepless nights bring significant risks to your health. Inadequate sleep duration can increase cardiovascular disease risk and cause cognitive impairments in adults.

Another disturb concerns mental health. About 40% of people with chronic insomnia have a mental disorder, usually related to depression or anxiety.

It’s also possible to observe how sleeping poorly can affect your professional life. A survey published by PubMed compared the work performance of 250 insomniacs and 391 good sleepers. Insomniacs reported more medical problems – like being hospitalized twice as often- and having a higher absenteeism rate. Besides that, they presented more issues at work, such as decreased concentration, difficulty performing duties, and work-related accidents.

6 Tips to Sleep Better

Most of the sleep hygiene concept is related to changing your habits, so here are some key points that can help you to get a better night’s sleep:

1. Consider Improving your Bedroom

A person goes through four to six sleep cycles regularly, which are essential for promoting rest and recovery. Light impairs the transitions between these cycles, reducing the quality of sleep, in addition to causing you to wake up.

Other things like traffic noise or low-frequency noise can cause poor sleep quality and mood swings. Pay attention to your bedroom at night and consider improving your environment to sleep in a darker, quieter bedroom!

2. Stop Using your Phone in the Evening

Darkness is essential for you to rest while you sleep. Also, sleep hygiene involves things you should do before bedtime, and one of them is to avoid using your smartphone or computer right before sleeping.

Electronic devices emit large amounts of blue light, which may be responsible for decreasing the melatonin concentrations in your body, and melatonin is responsible for facilitating the transition to sleep, promoting quality rest.

3. Avoid Caffeine Late in the Day

Caffeine is a powerful stimulant for your nervous system, so you shouldn’t drink coffee or other energy drinks in the evening. One study suggests that it is important to stop taking caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime to avoid significant disruptive effects on sleep.

This means that even if you can sleep over coffee at night, it will likely have implications for the quality of your sleep. Try to avoid or prioritize decaffeinated products in the afternoon.

4. Set Times to Sleep and Wake Up

Some studies suggest that sleeping and waking up every day at different times can disrupt your sleep. Doing this affects sleep hormones – such as melatonin – which help your body begin to relax and prepare for sleep. Therefore, you must organize your routine to sleep and wake up at the same time.

Ps: Although I have no difficulty waking up early, setting a bedtime can be tricky sometimes. One way I found to regulate my sleep better was to set the alarm for bedtime. We often define a time to wake up, but we forget that the time we sleep should also be a priority.

5. Avoid Alcohol Consumption

Another study shows that drinking can severely affect your rest. More precisely, it was observed that one serving of alcohol per day for women, and two servings for men, decreased the sleep quality by 39.2%.

Remember that, in addition to disrupting your sleep, alcohol can cause severe diseases besides compromising your metabolism throughout life. If you drink frequently, try to reduce your consumption little by little, talk to your doctor or seek professional help!

6. Start Exercising

Physical activities are responsible for promoting a series of benefits for your health, and one of them concerns sleep. This study shows that exercising has positive effects on sleep quality in middle-aged and older adults. Also, doing physical activities for 75 to 150 minutes helps reduce daytime sleepiness.

We are producing a series of articles about exercise, so there are no excuses! Let’s do it!

Other Factors That Can Affect Your Sleep

Although we’ve shared 6 tips to sleep better, several other factors could be hampering your night’s sleep. It is essential that you feel comfortable when you lie down, so make sure your environment is suitable for rest.

Your body should be relaxed before you go to sleep, so pay attention – or try asking your partner – in which position you sleep. Things like the height of your pillow or your mattress could be related to your sleep problem.

Other factors, such as waking up often to go to the bathroom at night, also affect sleep quality, so avoid drinking too much fluid in the two hours before bedtime. Consider seeking professional help if you have insomnia or any chronic problem.

Remember that any money spent on your health is an investment, not an expense!