The quality of your sleep can have a direct effect on your health, both mental and physical. Inadequate sleep or disturbed sleep can affect the energy that you have in the daytime, your emotional balance, while it can even affect your weight. Deep relaxation and restful sleep are helped by having healthy daytime habits like regular mealtimes, exercise, and sensible work habits.
When this is not done it most cases you will toss and turn at night which in turn will affect your brain, your heart, immune systems, and affect your moods creativity and vitality in the waking hours. Relaxation strategies like mindfulness, yoga, deep breathing, or meditation can help you to be deeply relaxed, and this, in turn, will boost both the quality of your sleep and the time you can sleep.
You can also add to your relaxation if you stop using all screens well before bedtime, your laptop or computer, your television and above all your smartphone. The use of these screens can upset the body’s natural clock and keep you from getting restful sleep. Then there are the traditional ways of relaxing like taking hot showers or drinking herbal tea. Some light exercises can also help you to relax, especially if you do exercise that brings the blood flowing down to the legs.
Quite often, when you are trying to sleep, your mind often goes to the events of the day and dwells on those that have caused you any anxiety or worry. Make it a habit, to spend some time after you have finished for the day and dedicate some time to these worries and anxieties and possible solutions, so that when you are trying to sleep you have finished with worrying.
Besides creating the right mindset for sleeping, all these relaxation techniques cannot be enough, unless you have a bedroom environment that is right for sleeping. Your bed must be comfortable with supportive mattresses and pillows, lighting if any must be very subdued, and the temperature is best set at between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Your clothing must be loose and comfortable.
Another thing that can affect deep relaxation and restful sleep is the time when you sleep. Every human body has its circadian rhythm and the best one for you, you have to find out for your self. Have a regular time for going to sleep, as well as a regular time for waking up. Sleep when you are tired, and try to wake up without an alarm. Get over the habit of sleeping in, even on weekends, as this can disturb the sleep-wake schedule that you have set up for your body. If you have had a late night, try to make up your sleep with a nap during the day. This will leave your rhythm for sleeping and waking undisturbed.
Naps during the day, if any, must be for very short periods not exceeding 20 minutes. Be limited in your use of alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee, as this can help you to sleep better. Avoid heavy meals in the night.
Try out all these tips and suggestions, and soon you may find that you are sleeping much better than you were before.
