How to improve your Sleep quickly?
What are some small things you can do to improve your sleep?
Back in time, while I was still in College, I was having a conversation with a friend and she was talking about why she needed to set alarms to get up and read and how hard it was for her to get up at night.
Hmmmn "how i wish." I told her. That was my opposite Reality.
I was living a stressed out plus soda addicted life and I didn't even know much it impacted my sleep quality.
Today, its not perfect – but I’m glad – things have improved so much. Largely because I focus on what I can control everyday not just because I want to sleep better but for overall health.
Some points you should put in mind:
- Your sleep quality is more important than your sleep duration.
- Your circadian rhythm, also known as your body clock, is mostly affected by three things: sunlight, meal timing and routines.
1. Create a relaxing bedtime routine:
The key here is to have a bedtime routine. Your body tends to follow consistent sleep patterns — sleep around the same time each night, and, wake up at the same time in the mornings — which is key for getting the high-quality sleep we need.
This could involve reading or taking a bath.
By following a sleep schedule and routine, you can train your body to fall asleep quicker and stay asleep for longer periods of time.
It may also inolve going to bed early. Lots of people stay up late and regret it the next morning.
Second, you’re more likely to feel less refreshed when you sleep late.
Third – its all about habits - If you’ve ever experienced living in a rural setting – you find the habit of staying past midnight is an entirely new convention we created in today’s modern society.
2. Don't drink caffeine before bed:
Caffeine is a stimulant and will make it harder for you to fall asleep.
It'll surprise you how many more processed foods contain caffeine and disrupt your sleep.
3. Get some exercise during the day
Exercise can help you feel sleepy at night.
Being physically active during the day aids in better sleep quality. The tiredness and good use of your muscles and whole body makes the body want a good night sleep to recover and helps you wake up refresehd.
4. Dark quiet and cool bedrooms
A dark and quiet environment will help you sleep better.
Keeping a cool, comfortable environment in your bedroom can also promote better sleep.
It turns out that people that sleep in cooler temperature have better sleep.
5. Eliminate Vegetable oils and junk food consumption
The myth surrounding dangers of saturated fats have been debunked but rather more studies are showing the negative effect of vegetable oils to your health.
Ditch the Corn, Soy and other vegetable oils. Replace with natural healthy fats.
The idea of balancing junk food with a healthy meal e.g. soda and any healthy meal doesn’t work.
A body builder may tell you its about timing etc? But low nutrition and processed nutrients cannot be compared to what a healthy food can give.
Stop balancing and make better decisions through priorities.
6. Limit your screen time before bed:
Looking at screens prior to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
Blue light affect sleep as your phones and laptops emit blue light which messes with melatonin important for sleep at night and second is the Stimulation from these devices.
7. Limit Alcohol
With each increase in glasses of alcohol you consume a day – the higher your chances of having a bad sleep.
Think about it - Before you use alcohol for any form of comfort - is the crashing into sleep without much consent and waking up non-refreshed worth it?
8. Get some Sunshine during the day
Apart from the Vitamin D benefits, sunlight is a key ingredient in regulating melatonin levels.
First it’s the natural light you need that signal waking up to your body cells (early mornings) and exposing yourself during evenings also does this trick (late evenings).
9. Decrease Unnecessary stress
What do you think people need when they’re most stressed and what options do they actully go for?
People do opposite of what they need when stressed because their energy and quality decision making
power crashes and in a sense they feel loss of control of their lives.
So they resort to crap food, avoid exercise and avoid healthy conversations– they best way to prevent all this is to find healthier ways to prevent/cope with stress so it doesn’t ruin your sleep at night or health in general.
10. Take your phones out of your sleeping room or go Airplane
Benefits include:
- Lower chances of you being tempted to use at bedtime.
- Lower chances of EMF toxicity
- Lower chances of someone waking you up at night through a random call
(Disregard this point if your job has some form of Emergency and may need your quick response at night)
11. Bonus point: Be kind to yourself
Truth be told we all have different genetics. We just need to help ourselves to make sure we’re not self-sabotaging ourselves. Even in the Classic book “Sleep” by Matthew Walker he acknowledged humans have been found to sleep in phases.
If you’re experiencing any challenges with your sleep
- Put in some effort DAILY to make lifestyle changes. Why? Because even the healthiest people you know are conscious of their lifstyle habits. It gives you the potential to live your life to the best possible quality!
- Before closing your eyes, introduce the habit of Gratitude and prayers! Your sleeping quality will also improve up to 40%.
- Avoid dependencies to sleep. E.g. 'temperature must be this,' 'music must be that,' masturbation etc.
- Visit a Sleep therapist or professional if you need more help apart from lifestyle changes.
- Don't get all worked up when you have a poor night sleep: You can compensate with a nap the next day or if its not possible bend your head at work to take a break at midday e.g 1pm. 10 – 20 mins of this can rejuvenate you.
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