You’ve probably struggled to fall asleep sometimes due to stressful days. However, it’s not only stress that can prevent us from having a good night’s sleep – there are other habits that we have during the day that can affect the quality of our sleep.
If you want to improve your sleep, then you should think about establishing a healthy nighttime routine that will significantly change the quality of your sleep and let you get up in the morning all refreshed.
Reduce Blue Light Exposure
Being exposed to light during the day is extremely beneficial, but when the sun goes down and you’re getting ready to go to bed, you should reduce exposure to light; especially the blue one.
This is connected to your circadian rhythm and exposure to blue light tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. This will reduce hormones such as melatonin which is responsible for relaxing you and helping you fall asleep.
So, make sure to avoid using your phone when getting to bed and turn off the TV. However, if you still want to browse the internet or watch something, you can wear glasses that block blue light or download apps that can block the light on your computer or phone.
Optimize Your Bedroom
Since quality sleep is often hard to achieve, you have to take a look at your bedroom and see if you actually like it how it feels at night. There are some key factors that can promise a good night’s sleep and these include noise, external lights, temperature, and furniture. If the external noise is high, you should do your best to minimize it in whatever way you can.
Also, keep the bedroom a quiet place and remove anything that could make noise during the night. What is more, if the street light by your place is too bright, invest in curtains and blinds that will put an end to that.
As far as furniture is concerned, it should be comfortable and snuggly enough to suit your needs. If your mattress is old and full of strings, make sure to invest in a new one.
However, make it suitable for your body – if you are obese, make sure to try out mattresses specific for obese persons in order to get better lumbar support; if you like your mattress to be hard or soft, make sure to get an appropriate one. This is an investment, but your body and mind will be thankful to you. Lastly, don’t forget to set the temperature of the room that suits your needs and you will enjoy sleeping through the whole night.
Start An Evening Ritual
People are creatures of habit and the brain picks up on the patterns in order to know what comes next during the day. That is why you should teach your brain and the body that it’s time to fall asleep and establish a nighttime routine. If you like reading, curl up with a book and read a few pages before falling asleep. You can also listen to some calming music, take a warm bath and repeat that each night. This will relax you and signal your body that it’s time to call it a day and turn off the lights.
Don’t Eat Late in the Evening
If you’re used to late-night snacks, make sure to ditch that bad habit. By eating late you are bringing a negative impact on your sleep and natural release of melatonin. However, if you can’t avoid eating late due to a busy daily schedule, work on the quality of your snack in the evening. For those of you whole love high-carb meals, make sure to eat it at least four hours before bed or consider low-carb snacks that can improve the quality of your sleep.
Sleep is of utmost importance and it should be of great quality. There are many factors that can impact that, so make sure to have a comfy and safe bedroom and to minimize the external factors that will reduce your sleep quality. Just relax, take a warm bath and teach your brain that it is time to fall asleep and wake up refreshed.
