Having trouble sleeping has always been one of the major problems of many people. Sleep is very important, having enough sleep will result to many benefits for our mind and body, to have better performance in all aspects. Lack of sleep causes low-energy that leads to unproductivity during day, and it will also affect the mood. It will also lead to various health conditions that can affect your lifestyle. I used to have trouble sleeping but when I started to do these, I saw the good results.
So, here are the ways on how to sleep faster and better. These factors worked out for me.
1. Turn off the lights
When it is dark, the body receives a signal and sleep hormone “melatonin” is produced. Exposure to light will inhibit the production of melatonin because the body will sense that there is light. It will trick the brain that it is not the time to rest. So, using your phone and computer before you sleep is not recommended because the blue light of the screen will prevent the production of melatonin. So, turn off the lights.
2. Plan Your Sleep Schedule
A fixed sleep schedule will help, for example, sleeping at 9pm and waking up at 5am daily will help your body to get familiar with the natural sleep-wake cycle or what we call “circadian rhythm”. If you do it regularly and your body gets used to it, you won’t even need an alarm to wake up.
3. Avoid Having Long Naps During The Day
Having long naps during the day will even make it worse for you to sleep at night, it will ruin your natural sleep-wake cycle or circadian rhythm. But, having a maximum 20-minute power nap is okay, it will help improve your brain performance.
4. Have a Balanced Nutritious Diet
Having nutritious balanced diet will help absorb the needed nutrients of the body. A nutritious diet will help the brain to perform well in producing hormones for the body. Eat foods high in fiber. Eating oats 15 minutes before you sleep will help produce more melatonin and it will make you sleep better, it is proven. Do not drink alcohol beverages and avoid smoking because it will lead to various health conditions and it will make you have trouble sleeping even more.
5. Exercise Regularly
Exercise has many great health benefits. Exercising regularly will surely help you sleep better. It will boost your metabolism. It will increase the amount of time you sleep during the night because of all the energy that you used during an exercise.
6. Avoid caffeine Late in The Day
I used to drink caffeine late in the day at around 4pm, and I always find it difficult to sleep at night. Drinking caffeine early in the morning is better. Caffeine is a psychoactive drug that stimulates the brain and nervous system to be active and perform better. So, drinking caffeine late in the day or even at night will keep you awake. It will lower the chance of sleeping faster.
7. Meditate
When you meditate, sit straight, empty your mind, think of nothing, just focus on the sound you hear, focus on the sound of your breathing. Do it as long as you can. Meditating will help clear your mind. It will prevent you from thinking about the negative things that happened during the day.
Author: Shy A.