Many factors affect your sleep hygiene, from the ambient temperature of the room to what we do for dinner. Sleep hygiene research examines these factors and how they affect sleep. These studies include a series of recommendations that advocate a healthy lifestyle and promote habits that favor better sleep.
Sleep is one of the most important activities we do in life. It plays an important role in waking up in a refreshed, rested way, and not having difficulty falling asleep. Would you like to know how to achieve this? Let’s take a look at these 7 basic rules for better sleep.
Maintain routine for sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene is a routine activity that takes advantage of stability. Therefore, your body takes advantage of this when you stand up and go to bed at the same time every day, including on weekends. Getting just five hours of sleep Monday through Friday and eight hours on Saturday and Sunday is pretty unnecessary.
While it’s true that we sleep more during childhood and adolescence and older ages, every adult needs a different length of sleep . Most people need between 6 and 8 hours of sleep each night, but this depends on individual and working conditions. Therefore, it is helpful to observe your sleep patterns for several weeks to better understand how much sleep you should get.
Better to wake up earlier than go to bed late
Sleep quality is as important as the quantity to ensure sleep hygiene. Even if you have slept for 7 hours, sleeping against 6 am and sleeping at 11 am are not the same. The body is programmed to know when it is time to wake up when the sun rises.
The body releases melatonin during the evening , so by the evening we begin to feel tired and sleepy. However, if you have to constantly change your circadian rhythm, you can pay dearly for it . In fact, it has been stated that people who work at night may face serious cardiovascular problems that can cause a heart attack.
Watch what you eat after afternoon
When we think that we get energy by consuming food and drinks, the first thing that comes to mind is coffee. But that’s not the only beverage that gets us moving: teas and sodas can also prevent us from falling asleep. You should be careful about what you eat and drink, especially at dinner time.
Likewise, chocolate is a food that can make it difficult for you to fall asleep or wake up early. In addition, reducing or avoiding alcohol consumption is best for maintaining sleep hygiene and keeping regular.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a princess and dinner like a beggar.
In general, carbohydrates wither our bodies and proteins wake us up . Therefore, rather than digesting more easily, you should opt for a salad instead of a beef tenderloin for dinner.
Regular exercise
Sports and exercise help increase fitness and avoid a sedentary lifestyle, and also help relax you and ease your tension. Therefore, another way to promote sleep hygiene is to exercise regularly in a balanced way . Sport and exercise not only keep us in shape, but also make it easier for us to get rid of anxiety that can affect our sleep.
However, it is important to take at least two hours to sleep after exercising. Exercise produces endorphins that keep your body awake, and it is not recommended to go to bed with such a high heart rate. It is better to let your body relax before going to bed.
Avoid doing activities before going to sleep
In addition to waiting a few hours before bed after exercise, follow the same rule after watching an action movie or an exciting television show. These activities increase your mental activation level. Many experts have said that audio-visual activities increase the likelihood of insomnia, mostly among young people between the ages of 18 and 32 .
Therefore, it is best to do the opposite: choose relaxing activities before bed to maintain sleep hygiene. For example, it is useful to choose background music, hot bath, light reading or breathing exercises . Your body will appreciate it the next day.
The pillow is not a good advisor
If you have anxious thoughts or concerns that keep you awake, sleep hygiene rules, it is best to talk to your friend, friend, or someone close to you rather than thinking about those thoughts for hours in your head.
If you are worried about the tasks you should remember to do the next day, write your mind in a notebook to “free” your responsibilities.
A room in perfect condition
At the same time, the condition of your bedroom can determine the quality of your sleep. The optimal conditions for a room are:
- Calm and relaxed atmosphere: It is more suitable for the atmosphere if all family members in the house go to bed at the same time. If you are asleep in bed and ready to fall asleep, but you can hear your child’s computer fan or playing games on the TV or computer in the living room, your peace of mind will be interrupted.
- Not too cold, not too hot: It’s good to keep the temperature around 21 degrees. You can lower it a few degrees higher or a few more if you want. Turning on your dehumidifier device can be a good solution before you sleep for a few hours.
- Sleeping in the dark is the ideal method: Power tools can make this difficult because the brightness of a screen or LED light can damage your REM phase or melatonin release.
