1. Only Exercise In The Morning
While it would be advisable to lead an active lifestyle, it would be advisable to limit strenuous exercises to morning hours only. One of the reasons for this is because exercise triggers increased blood flow and alertness levels, hence only recommended when starting the day. Exercising later during the day, and especially close to your bedtime (less than 3 hours), will only make sleeping much harder. On the contrary, early morning exercise helps reset the body’s circadian rhythm, making it easier to drift to a restful sleep at night.
2. Avoid Clock-Watching
Does it seem like centuries before you can finally drift to sleep? Do you always toss and turn on the bed for hours before finally falling asleep? If this is the case, the best solution would be to get off the bed and into another room, preferably a calmer one. It would help if you also turned the clock to face away from you. Clock-watching, or even listening to it, only increases your stress levels, causing cortisol levels to build up. Leave the bedroom and engage in relaxing activities in the living room or the kitchen. Listening to relaxing music, reading a book or novel, or even yoga might set you back in the mood. Only go back to bed when/if drooping with sleep.
3. Use Natural Light To Your Advantage
The morning light plays a crucial role in resetting the body’s internal clock. Make an effort to get at least 20 minutes of the morning sunshine every day for the best results.
4. Maintain A Regular Sleep Schedule
Create a habit of going to bed and waking up at exactly the same time every day. Doing so creates a pattern that your internal clock can work by, allowing you to drift to sleep whenever bedtime approaches and wake up feeling refreshed and energized. You also want to grab at least 7 hours of sleep every day to wake up refreshed and well-rested. If your mattress is preventing you getting your 7 hours read these Layla mattress reviews and consider an upgrade.
5. Be Careful With Daytime Naps
As tempting as the midday nap might be, it might as well be the reason you can’t sleep well at night. Consider napping for just a few minutes, and never after 4.pm if you have to. napping for more extended periods will only disrupt the body’s internal clock sending it in disarray. However, avoiding these naps will help the body produce enough sleep hormones, enabling you to sleep soundly at night.
6. Take A Light Dinner
Always have your dinner a few hours before your bedtime. Going to bed on a full stomach will only make falling asleep much harder and could trigger a number of issues as well. Going to bed on an empty stomach makes sleeping even harder. A light snack, such as a cup of warm milk or some cereals, could come in handy for dinner, especially if you get hungry.
7. Limit Your Fluid Intake At Night
Although you want to keep your body well hydrated for the night, you don’t want to have too many fluids either. Having too much to drink will only force you to wake up severally to go to the bathroom, affecting your REM significantly. Drinking just enough for the night and not less than 2 hours to bedtime would be a wise idea.