As the government slowly lifts restrictions hoping that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, you can begin to revel in the freedoms you may have taken for granted in the past. You can once again round up your friends for a memorable night out.
As you resume your late-night parties, movie nights, and sleepovers, the long hours of sleep the pandemic allowed you to enjoy may become a thing of the past. You need to come up with ways to ensure you get quality sleep as life becomes busier again. Otherwise, you may end up compromising your productivity and missing out on the many benefits of good sleep.
Benefits of Healthy Sleep
For starters, sleep will help you on your road to improved fitness. Recent research established a link between weight loss and sleep. If you're well-rested, you have almost 60 percent higher chances of shedding weight. You are also less susceptible to the hunger pangs that lead to poorly controlled eating. This is because the same part of the brain controls sleep and metabolism.
Good sleep will help you stay in great shape mentally and physically. If you give yourself the required amount of shut-eye, you will significantly lower your chances of succumbing to depression or anxiety. You probably don't need any studies to confirm that lack of adequate sleep makes you cranky. Being in such an irritable state of mind not only makes it harder for you to get along with people at home and at work, but it will also leave you prone to lapses in judgment throughout the day.
4 simple tips to have a good sleep
Get Plenty of Daylight
One of the keys to good sleep is soaking up enough sunlight during the day. Your body releases different hormones when exposed to light and darkness. These hormones are responsible for you feeling alert during the day and sleepy at night. It is what creates the circadian rhythm, that daily cycle of sleeping and waking up, which we take for granted.
Get Off Your Phone Before Bed
Are you in the habit of flicking through your Instagram or Facebook feed while in bed before dozing off? Comforting as it may be, this ritual could be making you miss out on quality sleep. The blue light emitted by your mobile device's screen has been found to interfere with our bodies' melatonin production. This, in turn, messes up our circadian rhythm.
The content you consume in those hours of late-night scrolling can trigger anxiety or excitement, causing your brain to postpone its natural urge to switch off. For these reasons, experts advise getting off all gadgets at least half an hour before you go to bed. Try to engage in an alternative pre-snooze ritual, like reading a book or some face time with your spouse. To ensure you don't succumb to the temptation to reach for your phone, allow it to charge overnight in a different room.
Consider Quality Bedding
The quality of your bedding could also be to blame for your lack of sleep. Your sheets could be made from a synthetic fiber that's harsh on you or treated using chemicals your skin doesn't agree with. Or you could be laying your head on a pillow that doesn't provide adequate support for your neck.
Of the elements that contribute most to the quality of your sleep, your mattress is right at the top of that list. The reason for your endless tossing and turning could be that you're using a mattress that's wrong for you. You need to invest in the right mattress for your preferred sleeping position.
Even if you find a mattress with rave reviews, it will still interfere with your sleep if it doesn't compliment your sleeping position. If you prefer the fetal position, you need to find the best mattresses in 2021 for side sleepers. Back sleepers may not need to be too particular as this position requires little additional support.
Configure Your Bedroom Temperature
A recent study showed that the temperature of your bedroom has more of an impact on the quality of your sleep than external noise. You probably recall a time when the heat in a room made it hard for you to fall asleep. If you can get your bedroom temp to around 70 degrees, you will be comfortable enough to fall asleep quickly.
Invest in Your Sleep
You may view sleep as a necessary evil, a waste of hours you could be spending on productive activities. But you need that downtime as much as you need that income or sense of achievement. Consider rest an investment in yourself, a means of creating the best version of yourself to face the challenges of the day.
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