Any behaviors that you have throughout the day can play a direct role in the quality of sleep you get at night. You want to ensure that you are doing everything you can to promote healthy sleep.
The routines you do every day will dictate the quality of your sleep. This includes your diet. What you eat and drink and when you eat and drink. It also includes how you schedule your day, the things you do throughout the day, and even the medications you take. Making a few slight adjustments can make a big difference in your quality of sleep.
There is a common term known as sleep hygiene. This is a term that refers to how your sleep habits can directly impact the quality of your sleep. Making even slight adjustments to these habits can pay off in a big way when it comes to your sleep health. When people suffer from various sleep conditions and disorders like insomnia, their sleep hygiene needs to be looked at. It’s an important part of cognitive behavior therapy or “CBT.” It’s easily the most effective treatment for those that suffer from chronic insomnia. CBT for insomnia is helpful because it gets to the root cause of your sleep issues. It can help you face your thoughts and behaviors that are directly keeping you from getting to sleep. It also has a lot of techniques for reducing stress, managing anxiety, improving relaxation, and better sleep schedule management.
If you are suffering from poor quality sleep or you are simply looking to improve your sleep, here are some of the best sleep habits you can get into. Always speak with your doctor if you are suffering from poor quality sleep. You can also go to an AASM accredited sleep center to get personalized treatment and advice too.
Top Sleep Tips
1. Maintain Consistency
You want to try to be as consistent as possible with your sleep schedule. Your body has an internal clock. The more consistent you are with your sleep and wake times, the more optimized the clock will be. This can make it easier to fall asleep at the same time every night.
2. Set a Good Bedtime
Look at how much sleep you need and when you need to wake up. It’s easy to figure out what your optimal bedtime should be once you reverse engineer it.
3. Don’t Go To Bed
This may not sound like it can be helpful to your sleep, but it is. You want to avoid going to bed if you aren’t tired. It’s not going to do you any good to be tossing and turning in your bed. Instead, you want to wait until you are tired enough to go to sleep. This is helpful for those with insomnia.
4. Establish a Routine
As mentioned previously, you want to try to prep your body for sleep. Establishing a routine that you follow every night is a good way to align your body clock. This could be something as simple as taking a hot bath before you get into bed.
5. Reserve Your Bed
Reserve your bed for only sleep and sex.
6. Optimize The Environment
Make your bedroom the best sleep environment possible. This means keeping it dark and cool and comfortable Therapedic’s 2022 mattress breakdown will help you to find the best mattress for you.
7. Don’t Use Electronics
Any electronic device with a screen is going to emit blue light. This light can simulate daylight. Because of this, try to limit your exposure. If needed, use a blue light filter or blue light blocking glasses.
8. Avoid Overeating
Don’t eat a heavy meal before you go to sleep. Try to keep it light.
9. Avoid Consuming Alcohol and Caffeine
It should go without saying, you don’t want to drink coffee right before you lay down. Likewise, it’s best to avoid alcohol to stay calm.
10. Don’t Drink Too Much
While water is good for you, it’s best to avoid overdrinking water before you go to sleep. You don’t want to wake up throughout the night as it can disrupt the quality of your sleep.
