Sleep hygiene refers to the different practices related to having a normal and healthy sleep time. It contributes to our productivity and alertness, and responses during the day. This article will examine some basic principles of getting an excellent sleep regime for the best performance. Knowing the effects of having poor sleep, one needs to have the discipline to do whatever it takes for improvement.
Why is it important to practice good sleep hygiene?
Any interruption or disturbance to your sleep shows that you don’t have good sleep hygiene yet. Moreover, when a diagnosis indicates that you are not sleeping well enough, it is time to follow sleep hygiene guide and make adjustments where necessary. Otherwise, the price one will have to pay for such carelessness may be far too high. Changing your sleep hygiene also may not be easy, but the eventual prize will be worth it in terms of positive effects.
How can you identify the best Sleep Hygiene for your Body?
Proper sleep hygiene is essential to stay healthy and have a long life. Therefore, you may need to change strategies if you begin to observe that you find it hard to sleep at night. Or if when you sleep, you still wake up at night and find it difficult to return to sleep, try to work on better sleep hygiene. But how can you identify the best sleep hygiene suitable for your body functions?
The fundamental thing to note is your sleep and wake-up time throughout the week. You can even go as far as noting them down with close monitoring. If you cannot do that manually, you can download some of the sleeping apps for the exact time you sleep and when you wake up. That will give you an idea of the length of time you spend in bed, and you can evaluate if it is too small or too long.
Examples of a Good Sleep Hygiene
As mentioned earlier, the first step towards good sleep hygiene is measuring the average time you spend sleeping. How long is your regular sleep time, and what is your wake-up pattern like? Over seven days or one week, when do you sleep and wake up? Meanwhile, staying in bed for the required time is a good culture, not more, not less. However, not everybody can afford such time, which is not a luxury.
The actual period of sleep may vary from one individual to another. For example, when someone has a problem with finding daytime sleepiness, they should still spend at least 8 hours of sleep in a bed. But if there is a struggle with sleep already, they can limit that to 7 hours, the recommended minimum time. At least, by the time the sleep hygiene improves, the sleep pattern can also enhance until it stabilizes.
Below are some sleep hygiene practices one can imbibe for a healthier lifestyle.
Suspend all afternoon napping
One of the most typical ways to disturb your sleep time is the afternoon naps. When you nap during the day, it often affects how much time you spend sleeping at night. Moreover, it may even disrupt your usual sleep pattern and wakefulness. However, there is also an exception to that rule. And the exception is those who have sleep debts. When your job requires staying late or working overnight, you will often find sleep detrimental. In such cases, you can use power naps to repay your sleep debt bit by bit until you feel better without the naps.
Stay away from stimulants
Using stimulants such as nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol when it is close to bedtime causes harm to the Body. People often do it because they want to stay awake longer, but using these substances can cause more damage than good. While people often use alcohol to speed up the onset of sleep, it can affect the sleep pattern in the second half. At that point, the Body begins to metabolite alcohol leading to arousal or even addiction.
Good body exercise is vital
Getting a night of good sleep is a factor in the well-being of the Body and the mind. Massively vigorous body exercise should be taken seriously to build good sleep hygiene. You may decide to do your activity in the morning in, the evening, or both. It is essential to stay focused on your goals and do it consistently. In the rule of exercise, consistency matters a lot. Practicing yoga before you go to bed is an excellent way to initiate the process of a good quality night’s sleep.
Avoid late food
Food is proportional to sleep particularly, the supper. Therefore, you should stay away from large meals until the time you intend to hit the bed. At the same time, specific dietary changes, such as increasing the spice, can bring about sleep problems. On the other hand, avoid trying an entirely new meal towards the night. And when eating, don’t forget that chocolate belongs to the family of caffeinated foods.
Exposure to natural light
The degree of exposure to natural light can also determine how you will fare in your sleep hygiene. Older people spend lower time outdoors, which is why many of them need to be exposed to natural light deliberately. Instead of spending long days in the dark because of inactivity, there should be an avenue for them to take a walk, stroll in the park, or host visitors outside. Our Body contains hormones regulated based on the trigger of daylight in the Body. And these signals influence our sleep and wake-up cycle.
Conclusion
On a final note, there are other practices you can imbibe for more stable sleep hygiene, such as
- A regular relaxing bedtime routine
- Creating a comfortable bedroom that is suitable for a relaxing mood
- Remove all electronic gadgets that may affect your eyes and the sleep hormone.
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