Sleep better
Over the past few weeks, months, better half of the year, where have your good night's sleep gone? Are you sleeping on the right side of the bed? Are you eating the right foods before calling it a night? Are you ready to start sleeping better?
How to sleep better
1. Exercise more
2. Quit smoking
3. Take cold showers
4. Watch movies
5. Upgrade your bed
6. Change the temperature of your room
7. Sleep with less clothes
8. Don't go to bed on an empty stomach
9. Drink warm milk
10. Take naps
11. Change sleep positions
12. Melatonin
Most sleep problems today are caused by your lifestyle rather than genetics. All that is required is a quick and easy change in our routines. Change your diet as well and notice improvements in the duration and quality of your sleep.
How to Sleep Better If You Are Having Trouble Sleeping Lately: You Will Have an Easier Time Getting to Sleep and an Easier Time Staying Asleep.
With these simple ways to help you sleep, get rid of that recent bout of insomnia and keep your stress at bay. Some of these are common sense, but perhaps you'll find something you didn't know before!
1. Exercise
Nothing beats exercise to get the blood pumping and leave you feeling too tired to lift a muscle. The more strenuous the exercise, the faster you will be able to fall asleep at night. What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger, right? Any kind of exercise that gets you start sweating and leaves you feeling a rush afterwards is what we are aiming for here. Your muscles will be relaxed after the spike of endorphins. Surfing the net or exercising your thumb with the TV remote doesn't count. For starters, you should start with step aerobics at night for the right amount of fatigue. Exercise at least once a day at any time for at least 30 minutes.
As in exercise, getting better sleep is strongly linked to your healthy. Though exercise alone may not be enough to truly feel rested in the morning, if are smoking. If you don't, take a cold shower.
2. Smokers are Jokers
Cut out the cigarettes. Seriously. That stuff is so bad for your health in many more ways than one. It has been reported that smokers are four times as likely to be restless than those who don't smoke. And not only do smokers get less shut-eye, but are more likely overall to not feel rested after a full night's sleep. A full night's sleep to a smoker is like half a night's sleep to those of us smoke-less citizens. The addictive nature of nicotine is thought to relax your nerves after a stressful day. But the truth is: all that nicotine in your body at night is actually acting as a stimulant and further feeding your withdrawal symptoms while you are sleeping. On top of that, it doesn't help prevent other problems such as sleep apnea and breathing difficulty preventing you from sleeping.
Quitting is one way to start sleeping better that not only helps you save up to get new bedding but also benefits your health.
Wanting to better your sleep is one thing, sleep another. Though if you really want to sleep like you want it, taking a cold show may do the trick.
3. Take a Cold Shower
The science behind it isn't really certain, but taking a cold shower has many health benefits. You could take a cold shower, in winter or summer, in the morning after a hard workout and it will leave you feeling refreshed. Those 2-5 minutes of discomfort tenses up the muscles and relaxes them after you are finished. Take one at night as one of the ways to help you sleep before you go to bed. Just make sure it's not ice cold. The purpose is to relax the muscles, not to numb them! Cold showers save on the gas and water bills, but nobody wants to take a cold shower for an extended period of time.
Who's up for sleep and a movie? Let's face it. Not all people are made for taking cold showers. After taking a nice warm shower watch something you are bound to fall asleep watching.
4. Watch a Movie You've Already Seen
We all have certain movies that we watch over and over, not because they are funny or exciting anymore, but because they make us comfortable in our surroundings. There is nothing new about the film to stimulate your senses. There is something relaxing and sleep-inducing about familiar settings. When you are in a night-time routine, the things you do every night are familiar and signal to your body and mind that you are ready for sleep. When you watch a movie you already know the complete dialogue of, you don't actually watch it. It's just background noise that puts you to sleep in an instant. Give it a try.
Maybe watching an old movie isn't helping. That's okay because there is some way to sleep better just waiting to be uncovered like improving sleep conditions. You would be surprised how much a difference a new mattress makes.
5. Upgrade your sleeping environment
Perhaps our sleeping woes stems from inadequate sleeping environment; yes, it's time to upgrade. Throw away that old ripped mattress and those flat and yellow-stained pillows. It's difficult and scary to make changes sometimes; especially when it comes to our sleep. But by not doing so we are actually making it worse off for ourselves. We all could use fresh pillows and a functioning mattress to get better sleep.
Upgrading your sleeping environment is one excellent way to improve sleep allowing getting new sleep gear is affordable for you.
Getting a new bed helps you little if your room is so hot all you can think of while trying to get some sleep is "How nice it would be to have air conditioning."
6. Adjust the temperature of your room
We all hate waking up and having to get up out of bed in the morning, especially if it is cold. However, a mix of the cold air circulating in the room and the warmth of your sheets will keep your body at the perfect temperature, promoting restful sleep and it will help you with getting more sleep. If your bed isn't warm enough, you will wake up shivering. On the other hand, if your room temperature is too warm, you will wake up sweating. You don't need your whole house to be warm, you only need your bed to be warm. Use your windows and heaters effectively to make sure you will remain asleep throughout the night and save money in the process. Your body temperature is the most important factor in making sure you get a full night's rest.
If you don't have the temperature turned up tropics high and still find yourself waking up in a puddle of sweat, you may be overdoing things in terms of sleepwear.
7. Sleep wearing less
This may sound like a radical concept to some, and you may be skeptical. But it's been proven that sleeping naked helps your body regulate its temperature, thus providing the best environment for you to get a restful sleep. Just make sure your futon is of extra warm quality during the cold season so you don't catch a cold. Sleep should be a natural experience. Think of what cavemen would do back in prehistoric times and do what they did; if it worked for them, it can work for us too. If the goal is to solve our sleeping problems, our priority should be to focus on the natural alternatives before seeking medical help. You will be surprised to find that even simple solutions such as sleeping naked can be the most effective.
Becoming a nighttime nudist may not be the route you want to take in order to get a better night of sleep if you happen to be living with someone you are not in a close relationship with. Though if you everyone is okay with your new sleeping habit, do sleep wearing less.
In addition to not be able to escape their tropic origins, people don't fare well in sleeping on an empty stomach.
8. Eat
If you have trouble sleeping because you often go to bed on an empty stomach, try changing up your eating schedule. Don't buy into all that garbage about gaining weight if you eat right before sleep; it's a myth. What can make you gain weight, however, is the lack of proper sleep. You should never go to sleep on an empty stomach and risk having a stomach ache during the night. Eating the right amount of healthy food is one of many great ways to help you sleep. Once you get your fill, you will be out like a rock.
Forgetting to eat may not be the only ailment keeping your from getting a better night of sleep. As you will find out, a warm glass of milk at night may be all it takes.
9. Have a Cup of Warm Milk
Although you might think that this is something your grandma used to tell you just to annoy you, there is something about having some warm milk before bedtime. While some people might say that it's not a really good idea to have milk at night, a lot of people swear by it, saying that it relaxes them and helps them sleep better. If you don't have any better ideas, there is nothing you could lose if you gave it a try.
If you like drinking warm milk right before going to bed, you will love cat napping.
10. Nap Less, sleep more
Taking a nap may help you get a better night's sleep. However, the only time you should take naps are on weekends when you have nothing else going on anyways. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time. They aren't a good way to catch up on sleep because then it's harder to have a full sleep cycle at night, when you really need it.
How long should I nap to sleep better at night?
If you do decide to take on napping to sleep better at night, keep it under 1 hour. 30 minute naps usually leave people refreshed and happy afterwards. Long naps make you even more tired than you were to begin with.
So whether you are taking a 20 minute nap or going the whole hour in a half, napping is one way to sleep better at night worth trying.
If you sleep like a pretzel all the cat naps in the world may not help you.
11. Change your Sleep Position
Sometimes a simple change in sleep position is what most of us need to get better sleep. If you are a stomach sleeper and you find that your neck hurts and you have trouble getting restful sleep lately, try changing to the side or back. It's been shown that sleeping on our stomachs isn't as natural as other positions for our body.
Depending on your body type, it may be beneficial to change your sleep position. It might be a hard change to make if you have slept on your stomach your entire life, but the health benefits are not to be ignored. Start by placing a hard object in your shirt pocket, and wear that shirt at night. The discomfort of the object between you and your mattress will naturally cause you to shift your sleep position to your side while sleeping. This is a quick way to get your body used to a different sleeping position.
What is the best position to sleep in?
Sleep positions are without a doubt one of the quicker ways to get better sleep. Though not positions are created equal. For example, if you've been sleeping on your side, it may be time to start sleeping on your back, the best sleeping position if you aren't a snorer.
Changing your sleep position is a sure way to get better sleep at night. Though if it doesn't work for you, there is always melatonin.
If all other sleeping tips fail, there is always melatonin.
12. Melatonin
If all else fails, try this all-natural supplement for one of the quicker ways to help you sleep. Start with a small dose and work your way up if you don't notice any changes in your sleep. The benefits of melatonin include an easier time getting to sleep and a more restful sleep. There are very few reported side effects and it's quite cheap. There is a low risk and a high reward, if it works for you.
