Sleeplessness is a growing problem in the digital age – and by failing to get the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, many of us are putting our physical and mental wellbeing at risk.
The good news is that making simple lifestyle changes can help you improve your sleep while also benefitting your general health and fitness.
Read on to discover our 5 top tips to improve your sleep…
Watch What You Eat Before Bed
Avoiding caffeine in the several hours before you plan on sleeping is an obvious tip, as caffeine is a stimulant, so it’s the last thing you want to be taking just before you plan on calling it a night.
However, there’s more to this point than just avoiding caffeine. You should also keep an eye on your entire diet and try to eat more healthily.
Furthermore, it’s important not to go bed hungry or to overeat right before you sleep, as this may disturb you in the middle of the night.
Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Sleeping at roughly the same time every night is a great way to help out your body clock and prepare your body for sleep, greatly reducing the chances of you struggling to fall asleep.
Waking up at the same time every morning isn’t as important, but it can nevertheless help your body out in a similar way.
Avoid Napping During the Day
Daytime napping can wreck your sleeping pattern, so it’s advisable to avoid naps unless they are very short naps (less than 20 minutes) and only if you have the discipline to wake yourself up and carry on with your day afterward.
Weekends can be a challenge, as it’s tempting to have a lie-in and to stay up later than usual, but it’s best to avoid this if you don’t want to disrupt your body clock too much. Stay awake by watching services like UWatchfree and other activities.
Control Your Thoughts and Worries
Many of us can’t help but think and worry as soon as we get into bed. This can make it almost impossible to fall asleep, and you’ll often find yourself getting more and more anxious as you’re wary that you’re wasting time and you should be fast asleep.
To help control your thoughts and worries, you should spend time during the day to have these thoughts and ideally write down to-do lists (as people often start planning for the following day in bed, which can lead to other thoughts.)
Avoid Prescription Sleeping Aids
Prescription sleeping aids can are notorious for delivering more than just a good night’s sleep, their use almost guarantees you’ll experience unpleasant side effects including dizziness, headaches, diarrhea and memory issues. So, you’ll pay for the sleep you get in some unpleasant ways.
There are many non-prescription sleep remedies that are available over the counter or online. But again, side effects can be an issue for some people. For example, while melatonin works well for some people, it can throw your circadian rhythms off creating more problems for you.
CBD and CBN oils are legal cannabinoids that are known to help calm the mind and body and make falling asleep and staying asleep much easier. Try a CBN sleep product or a full-spectrum CBD product that includes a high level of CBN as an alternative to prescription sleep meds. You can check out CBN oil reviews here.
Minimize Blue Light Exposure Before Bed
Blue light can disrupt your circadian rhythm and make your body think it’s still daytime, making it much harder for you to fall asleep.
So, it’s advisable to minimize your blue light exposure in the 30 minutes to an hour before you plan on sleeping. In other words, you should to avoid using your phone or laptop, and other electronic devices before bed.
Quick Sleep Tip Summary
- Sleeplessness is a growing problem, and the effects of not getting enough sleep on a consistent basis can have profound effects on health.
- There are many small lifestyle changes that you can make to improve your sleep.
- For example, avoiding caffeine and eating more healthily can help you fall asleep and get better quality shuteye.
- Minimizing your exposure to blue light before bed and trying to maintain a consistent sleeping pattern can help keep your body clock in check and make it easier for you to fall asleep.
- Try a natural sleep aid like CBN Oil or CBD Oil
- Lastly, avoiding naps during the day is also important, as sleeping in the day can confuse your body clock.