Rest is essential for your body’s recovery, and sleep offers the perfect opportunity for this rejuvenation. However, feeling fatigued during the day doesn’t always indicate a lack of sleep. At times, other external elements might interfere with your ability to get a restful sleep. If you experience such difficulties more than a couple of times, it’s wise to consult with your physician to explore possible solutions. Sleep is crucial for everyone, making it an indispensable part of your daily schedule. This explains the challenge many face working from dawn till the next without adequate rest. Security firms, for example, often split their workforce into shifts, with some covering the daytime and others the nighttime. It’s also worth mentioning that individuals have varied sleep cycles. Therefore, it’s incorrect to presume that everyone sleeps at night. For a round-the-clock economy to thrive, its workers must be well-rested. The amount of sleep required varies from one person to another based on numerous factors.
The human body has an internal clock. You should, therefore, have a constant schedule in order to keep your body in tune. Your daily schedule is influenced by what you do during the day. The daily schedule of a student and a factory worker are very different because of the nature of what they do. Your daily activities also influence the amount of sleep that you will need. According to scientific studies, adults require at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Many people often wonder whether having naps during the day is part of the seven hours. However, the major concern today is that many people don’t know the value of good quality sleep to their bodies. Most people are spending a lot of time working hard and smart. What they forget is that they need to be in good health in order to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Below are some of the reasons why you need enough good quality sleep;
- The best part about night time is having good sleep. Good sleep plays a big role in building the memory. The human mind does not only receive and process information, but it also stores content and reproduces it when needed. Scientists believe and have proven that sleep improves your memory. Whenever you sleep, you relax your mind. As the relaxation happens, your mind gets to store all the information that you have acquired during the day. So when you wake up, you will remember everything that happened better. This means that sleep helps your mind to wake up more refreshed and ready to acquire more information. If this continues on a regular basis, then you will be improving your muscle memory. Some couples always get into fights and disagreements because one spouse doesn’t remember their anniversary or even birthday dates. Good sleep can help with this. The other thing you should remember is that after good quality sleep, you wake up feeling better and thinking straight. When you have had a long day, you can always sleep and come up with better solutions to a problem the next day. It is believed that when you wake up, your mind has a fresh start and that is why you will have a new concept and new approach towards a problem. This is one way of enhancing creativity.
- The dream of everyone is to live a long and fruitful life. No one wants to face the bitter truth that they won’t live forever. This is the reason why most people are struggling to look young forever. In most cases, people believe that when you are young, you still have many more years to live. This might be one reason why cosmetic surgery is growing in demand. However, what many people forget is that for you to achieve a healthy lifestyle, you need proper sleep. It wouldn’t be of benefit to have all the money in the world, yet you are sick. A good night’s sleep promotes a healthy life. A healthy life will earn you more years on earth. That is one secret on how you can live long.
- The human body is created in a way that it has to rest for a while before it can continue working. However, some people deprive their bodies of the right to enough sleep. When this happens, then there will be a hitch in your daily activities. If by any chance you are a student, how do you expect to concentrate in class yet you didn’t get enough sleep? You need the sleep so that you can be able to pay attention in class. On the other hand, if you work in a factory, you need to focus on what you do so that there is better productivity for your clients. You need proper sleep to enable you to focus and pay attention to your clients’ demands; especially if you work on the policy that the customer is always right. When you have better focus in business you will definitely increase productivity. This will, in turn, earn your business more clients, which translates to increased revenue for your business. This means that sleep is at the backbone of how well you focus and pay attention to various issues in your life.
- Everybody’s life is different and unique in its own way. Life differs in the types of challenges that everybody goes through. The decisions you make determine the results of each situation you go through in life. However, some life challenges can bring about stress, especially when they are challenges that you have never faced before or those that are beyond your control. Stress has its own negative impact on your daily routine and concentration. Sleep will always relax your body and soul. This will reduce all the anxiety issues that you might have. A good night’s sleep will reduce your heart rate, which means that it will reduce your blood pressure during times when you are stressed out. Stress has been known to be one of the reasons why many people develop high blood pressure. With enough sleep, your mind and body will relax and you will wake up feeling better.
- Whenever an individual doesn’t have proper sleep, they might be sleepy during the day. This will obviously impair their vision or judgment. Sometimes you might not have enough sleep due to acute insomnia or even chronic insomnia. It is your responsibility to visit your doctor and get to the root of your problem. Can you imagine driving while you are struggling to keep your eyes open? It can be a dangerous situation because you might cause an accident. The accident you cause might claim the life of someone you love. All this can be avoided if you get the required amount of sleep. With proper sleep, you get the required concentration even when driving. Concentration and alertness is something you need in your daily activities. So always ensure that you have proper rest while you sleep.
- If you are an athlete, you will understand the importance of proper sleep before your actual game. Some games require a lot of accuracies as you play. For instance, if you are a basketball player, you need to have proper rest before a big game so that you can shoot better. Sometimes training for it can be very intense. For you to have the required speed during a game, you need to have proper relaxation. Sleep plays a big role because it helps your body muscles to relax. After the ample relaxation period, you will have all the attributes of a good player. You will have accuracy when passing the ball and you will also have good reaction time during the game. When all players in a team have these qualities, then the team will stand a better chance of winning. If you are a professional weightlifter, you understand the importance of having proper sleep. A good night sleep will ensure that your muscles heal properly after training. When you train at the gym, your body gets tired and your muscles wear out. On the other hand, when you have enough sleep, your body tissues get enough time to heal and this results in stronger and bigger muscles.
- The immune system in the human body helps to keep the body healthy. When your body is free from any illness, then it means that you are healthy. You can boost your body’s immunity by eating several types of foods. In addition, sleep has also been proven to boost your immune system. When you go to sleep, your body produces protective proteins which liaise with the white blood cells to fight any infection. Some diseases like the common cold can be moderated with a strong immune system. Have a healthy life by boosting the functionality of your immune system.
- In the current generation, people are finding it easier to communicate because the whole world has been turned into a global village through the availability of the internet. People can communicate through social media platforms. This might not be the case when you have to wake up and go to work. At your workplace, you will need proper communication skills that will enable you to interact with your colleagues. This might be a challenge if you didn’t have enough sleep. When you are sleep-deprived, you will feel tired and sometimes you might become moody. This will, in turn, have an effect on your emotions. When you have emotional challenges, it gets hard to socially interact with others. To be on the safe side, always ensure that you give your body the required amount of good quality sleep.
- Sleep has proven to play a big role in a couple’s sexual life. Less sleep can reduce the levels of your testosterone. This will, in turn, reduce your libido. When you have a lower libido, then you will not be able to function as required during sex. Lower testosterone will also reduce your sexual interests. If you suffer from chronic insomnia, you might develop erectile dysfunction. In women, lack of sleep will result in sexual distress. This is a condition where the lady has zero interest in sex. This can result in a problem in the relationship, especially if the man has a higher libido. To be on the safe side, everybody should have enough sleep. Enough sleep has more benefits to the body than less sleep. If you have challenges sleeping, then you need to visit the doctor and seek medical guidance.
Wonderful things you should always know about sleeping hygiene
Sleeping hygiene basically includes practices that each individual takes part in before going to bed. These are tips that have been proven to be effective by most individuals. However, sleeping rituals differ depending on the individual. These rituals help to influence your sleep cycle. They will play a role in what time you sleep and wake up. The same sleeping rituals will play a role in how the following day will be like. This is because how you tackle the next day largely depends on how well you sleep the previous night. Sleep has proven to have many benefits for both your health and well-being. There are two major types of sleeping hygiene. These are; good sleeping hygiene and bad sleeping hygiene. Good sleeping hygiene is the good practices you do before you sleep whereas bad sleeping hygiene is the bad practices that will result in you not having high-quality or enough sleep.
How then do you maintain a good sleeping hygiene?
- Everybody spends his or her day differently. This means that everyone knows how much sleep they need so they can function well. The amount of sleep a young child needs is different from the amount of sleep an adult needs. Similarly, the amount of sleep you need when on holiday is different from the amount of sleep you need when you are working. As an individual, you need to assess your condition and decide on the minimum amount of sleep that you need. This will help you establish a good sleep routine.
- For you to achieve a good sleep routine, you need to determine what time you sleep and wake up. You need to instill a certain kind of discipline into your body. A sleeping pattern can only be achieved if you train your body to be going to bed and to be waking up at specific times. Sleeping routines change depending on the occasion or the occupation one is in.
- You need to train your body to sleep in less bright light. You might go to bed at your normal bedtime but find it difficult to fall asleep because there is too much bright light. Bright light will stimulate your eye muscles, which will make it hard for your mind to shut down and sleep.
- The current millennium has a lot of communication gadgets. These gadgets are available to help make communication better. However, because of the light that their screens emit, they make it very difficult to fall asleep. Therefore, in order to have an easier time falling asleep, keep your gadgets away half an hour before going to bed. This is so that you have time to decompress and relax.
- Caffeine can be found in products like tea and coffee. When you take hot tea before you sleep, you will likely not be able to go to sleep, and this can mess with your sleep cycle. You should, therefore, try to avoid anything that has caffeine half an hour before going to bed. Dark chocolate made from cocoa has caffeine too. Caffeine plays a big role in stimulating your body, and this will mean that you stay up longer struggling to get sleep.
- Exercise will help you maintain a good sleeping hygiene. This is because some exercises will help you to reduce your stress levels. However, you need to ensure that you don’t indulge in strong and vigorous exercises. Vigorous exercises before bedtime will make it hard for you to sleep in good time. You can always have these during the day. One hour before bed, you can have light exercises such as yoga that will cool off your body and send you to sleep.
- You need to ensure that you have dinner early enough. When you do this, you give the body ample time to digest the meal. If you eat and immediately head to bed, your body will focus on digestion, and this might cause a lot of discomfort during sleep. Discomfort is one reason that leads to sleeping disorders. If you want a steady sleeping pattern, then you should always make sure that you have your dinner prepared and eaten in time.
The undeniable bedtime rituals that will lure you into a good night sleep
In life, everyone has those few traditional practices that they do to ease them to sleep. The day you forget doing this practices, you might end up finding it very difficult to sleep. In most cases, these practices are also part of good sleep hygiene. These rituals relax your body and shut down your brain as you prepare to sleep.
Below are the most used rituals that have proven to work;
- The best thing about the current millennium is technology. Through technology, a lot has improved. The internet has become one of the most common things around the world. Technological advancement has also led to the invention of better electronic gadgets. However, some of these gadgets are to be blamed for people having poor sleeping patterns. You should, therefore, ensure that you always switch off any form of technology before bedtime. You can do this an hour beforehand. This will help your brain to shut down slowly and eventually you will be able to sleep once you get to bed. In most homes, switching off wifi or any form of internet connection helps in preparing for bed. You should also ensure that no electronic gadget is running.
- The best thing about reading is that you get to acquire more knowledge. This is a habit that you should practice before you sleep. The reason why reading is recommended at this time is that your eyes will have to focus on the small words on the page. Your eyes will also be expected to move from one line to another. With time, the eye muscles will get tired and you will feel exhausted since your brain will also be relaxed. The eye muscles can’t focus for that long. Therefore, make sure you always keep a book on your nightstand.
- Your body has mechanisms that ensure the right temperature is maintained. It does so to ensure that external temperatures don’t affect the body functions. If the external environment is too hot, then with time you will start sweating and before you know it, you will be up. If the room is located in an extremely cold area, then your body will need more warmth to ensure you get the required sleep. In order to sleep immediately you get to bed, you need to adjust your air conditioner to room temperature an hour or two before bedtime. This way, you will have the required sleep all night long until the alarm wakes you up.
- You might be wondering whether taking milk is really important before going to sleep. Some people just have milk in the morning because milk has almost all the food components that your body needs. However, milk has tryptophan that plays a very big role in the relaxation and calming of the body. When your body is calm and relaxed, you can sleep peacefully.
- The reason why you need a warm bath before you sleep is that a warm bath plays a big role in relaxing your body. If by any chance you had a long day and you are tired, a warm bath will help calm your aching muscles before you sleep. You can make it a habit and see how it will work wonders for you. You will be able to sleep without any worries.
- The best thing about getting a light massage before bedtime is that it lowers any form of anxiety. Anxiety has proven to be one reason why most people experience insomnia. When you kick out anxiety through a light massage, then you will restore your wonderful sleeping routine. On the other hand, massages also reduce body pains which in turn stimulate relaxation within the body. If you have no pain, you can concentrate on sleeping peacefully. However, you should avoid any form of deep tissue massage before you get to bed. This is because it might cause some pain and thus make it hard for you to sleep.
- Meditation is one way that can actually help you sleep properly. This is because meditation plays a very big role in calming your body. During meditation, you are advised to concentrate on your breathing. When you get your breathing to become regular, you also relax your mind and body. The same case applies to yoga and stretching. You can actually do light yoga stretches before you sleep. The reason why yoga is preferred by many is that it is one way of releasing stress. Once you have no stress, then it gets pretty easy for you to sleep.
- Your eyes and brain require darkness or dim lighting to activate sleep immediately after you go to bed. How do you achieve this? The light from your television set or even laptop can keep you awake for long because it gives the illusion of daytime. The best thing, therefore, is to ensure that you don’t expose your eyes to any form of bright light when going to sleep. Switch off all the lights half an hour before bedtime. If you really need some light, invest in some dim lights.
Terrible rituals you should never do before getting into bed
Rituals are majorly practices people indulge in before doing something important. Bad sleeping rituals are common mistakes people make that actually alter their sleeping schedule. These are the things you should never do before going to bed;
- The reality about life is that you might sometimes be on medication. The medication should always be approved by your doctor. However, you need to have a discussion with your doctor about the effects that the medication has on you. Some drugs can make it easy for you to sleep. However, if the pills will in one way or another alter your sleeping pattern, then it will be better if you take them early before bedtime. If you are an athlete who uses supplements, you should also inquire more about how they affect your sleeping pattern. You need to know whether they will cause any problems during sleep. This way, you will be able to arrange on when and how to take them.
- By now, you probably know that the body requires adequate water to function. However, you shouldn’t drink too much water at night right before bed. The reality is that water plays a very big role in digestion. However, if you drink too much water before bedtime, your body will focus on the absorption of the water and you will end up breaking your sleep from time to time in order to go to the bathroom. This will affect the amount and quality of sleep that you get. Sometimes it gets hard to fall asleep after you have woken up.
- Most people think that making calls takes a lot of time and that it can actually stop you from sleeping. However, texting is now the new habit that can make you stay up all night and before you know it, it’s morning. This is because the current mode of texting allows participants to share audios and videos. This way, messaging becomes very interactive and interesting. This will not help to build brainpower. Instead, it will give you difficulties sleeping once you are done because your brain is active. So, keep your phone away before bedtime.
- Working out is healthy for the body. That is why it requires a specific duration of time just like any other activity you do during the day. However, you should avoid having intense workout sessions before going to bed. When you work out, your whole body becomes stimulated and will take a longer period to cool off. This means that you will have to wait for some few hours before you can actually get to sleep. This will automatically affect the amount of sleep you get in a night. However, you can indulge your body in simple exercises like stretching and yoga just to calm the body down before you sleep.
- Tea and coffee are all stimulants. Any stimulant will activate your senses. You need your body to be calm and relaxed during bedtime so as to sleep well. You should avoid having beverages like tea or even coffee at that time. Some products that have caffeine, like chocolates should also be avoided before going to bed. Dark chocolate made from the cocoa plant contains caffeine that will stimulate your brain system instead of shutting it down.
- Working from home has become a common habit with a lot of people, especially when they have a deadline to beat. It gets extremely stressful for them and such issues can cause acute insomnia. The best thing you can do for yourself ensures that you avoid opening your work emails before going to sleep. This way, you can ensure that you don’t walk into bad work surprises. You will be able to have proper sleep without any panic or nervousness.
- It is very bad for any couple to pick a fight before going to bed. You should always ensure that you go to bed as a couple when you are relaxed and happy. In most cases, the fights always lead to stress, and stress will often lead to insomnia. To be on the safe side, you should avoid any form of wrangles with your loved ones before getting into bed.
- You should avoid alcohol before getting into bed. Alcohol plays a major role in causing sleep disorders. In most cases, alcohol will mess around with the brain receptors. This means that your brain will find it very hard decompressing and shutting down. Eventually, you will have difficulties falling asleep. Smoking, on the other hand, contains substances that will also stimulate your brain receptors. Your brain receptors need to cool off, and the brain can’t cool off when it’s being stimulated. Therefore, avoid any alcohol and smoking before bed. This way, you will be able to enjoy a good night’s sleep.
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Co-founder of Counting Sheep and Sleepaholic
