To easily fall asleep and wake up, feel awake in the morning and not get up several times a night, it’s important to follow the rules of sleep hygiene. For example, spending more time in the sun and airing out the bedroom in the evenings. Let’s find out about these and other habits you should adopt for a healthy sleep.
Keep Your Sleep Schedule
Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends. So your body will get used to the regime, and it will be much easier to fall asleep and wake up. Moreover, thanks to the established sleep schedule, you won’t feel sleepy during the day.
To sleep well, it’s also important to sleep for at least seven hours. Otherwise, you won’t be able to get a good rest, even if you sleep well.
Give up Gadgets Before You Go to Sleep
Many people are used to flipping through social media before going to bed or watching movies on their laptops late into the night. These habits can interfere with sleep: the blue light from gadget screens suppresses the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Instead of watching TikTok videos or betting at 22Bet Albania, it’s better to take a paper book – reading before going to bed can be just as entertaining.
Dangerous and too bright light from lamps in the bedroom – it also disrupts the synthesis of melatonin. Therefore, an hour before going to sleep, it’s better to dim the light in the room: leave only a night light or a desk lamp on.
In the morning, on the contrary, it’s worth going into the light: sunlight or electric light. It will help cheer up faster.
Eat a Light Meal
High-carbohydrate or fatty foods, such as sweets and fast food, can interfere with sleep because your body needs more time to digest the food. Don’t eat it two hours before bedtime and switch to a light dinner. For example, chicken filet with vegetables, eggs, fish, and seafood.
It’s also important to follow a water regimen so that you don’t have to get up at night to go to the bathroom. Try to drink more water during the day, but don’t drink it an hour before bedtime.
Ventilate the Room
It’s difficult to fall asleep in a stuffy room, so a few minutes before going to sleep it’s better to air the room. The less carbon dioxide in the room, the better, scientists have found: under the influence of oxygen the quality of sleep, concentration and performance improves.
Airing will help cool down the bedroom, which is also important. A couple of hours before bedtime, the body begins to reject heat to cool down – this has to do with melatonin production. In a cooler room, your body temperature will drop naturally, so it will be easier to fall asleep.
Make an Evening Routine
An hour before bed, do a ritual that relaxes you. If you do it daily, your brain will associate the action with sleep, and soon you’ll feel sleepy afterwards.
A ritual can be reading, a warm bath, or any other quiet activity. For example:
- Meditation, which relieves stress, calms your breathing and heartbeat, causing you to naturally slow down.
- Self-massage or using massagers.
- Keeping a diary, which helps to discharge anxiety and calm down before going to bed.
Use the Bed Only for Its Intended Purpose
It’s often tempting to rest on the bed in the evening after work or during the day if you work from home. But then the brain gets used to the fact that the bed isn’t just for sleeping. And because of that, it will be harder to sink into sleep.
Try to use the bed only for sleeping. Watch TV or read a book from a chair in the bedroom, or in another room altogether. That way the brain will associate the bed only with sleep.
Spend Time in the Sun
Sunlight affects circadian rhythms, the body’s internal clock, which controls the periods of sleep and wakefulness. Under the influence of the sun, the body understands what time of day it is.
But artificial light can cause circadian rhythms to become confused with day and night, which can disrupt sleep patterns.
Try to spend a lot of time in the sun, especially in the morning. It not only controls circadian rhythms but also promotes the production of vitamin D, which supports the immune system.
