Effective Sleeping Guidelines
The quantity of sleep you need depends on a number of factors, including your age. Although everyone’s needs for sleep are different, here are some general guidelines that apply to different age groups:
Keep a Consistent Sleeping Schedule
By giving the body’s clock indications from the environment, such as the first time you are exposed to light, which occurs at the same time every day, a constant routine helps the body’s clock function properly.
However, a disorganized schedule will throw off the body’s clock, making it work harder to maintain the same sleep and wake cycles.
Your body clock depends on a regular sleep routine. as the body clock develops its pattern over the course of weeks and months.
A regular bedtime is also good, but there will probably be some inconsistency. We do not want you to become a slave to sleep, thus we prefer that you engage in meaningful activities even if this results in fluctuation in your bedtime.
For instance, you might have an evening function that keeps you up later than normal. Additionally, we normally advise against going to bed at your target hour if you are not tired because this will set you up for lying in bed awake.
We advise you to choose a precise time of night and make an effort to maintain consistency, but be flexible. Remember that waking up at the same time every day, regardless of how late you stayed up, will help your body maintain its rhythm.
Find Natural Light
It’s crucial to wake up as quickly as possible from sleep. It likes removing a bandage from your skin. The quicker you can adjust and get over any discomfort, the faster you can make the change.
This involves preventing yourself from hitting the snooze button. Additionally, it implies that even if you wake up earlier than expected, it is best to get up than to lie in bed.
The first hour of natural light is good for the body. Your body’s internal clock is triggered by light to begin the cycle of waking up to begin the day.
For instance, it might decrease the body’s ability to produce melatonin, a hormone that serves as a cue for sleep. Consider using a light source that matches the range of natural sunshine if you are unable to find a strong, natural light source when you wake up.
Limit Napping
It may mess with your body clock and sleep-wake cycle, making it difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep. We’ve seen that for some people, napping can mess with their biological clock.
Even when you aren’t completely refreshed, a short moment of sleep seems to signal the brain that it is time to get up. If you want to sleep, try to limit it to no more than 20 to 30 minutes, and avoid going to bed earlier than midday.
If you frequently doze off before going to bed, we advise you to consider ways to lessen the probability of this happening. For example, you might choose to sit upright in a chair rather than recline on a couch in the evening or go for a walk to the water fountain if you notice that your eyelids are getting heavy while you work.
Limit Your Stimulant Intake
Any substance that stimulates the neurological system is a stimulant. Typical stimulants include caffeine, nicotine, and sugar. Start taking these stimulants early in the day or before noon if you chose to do so.
Be mindful of both obvious sources of caffeine, such as tea, coffee soda, coffee, and energy drinks, as well as less obvious sources, including medications (such as Excedrin, Midol decongestants, etc.) and smoothies with “energy boosters.”
Your body can maintain its normal rhythms by cutting back on or completely eliminating stimulants. A stimulant may impact your body clock by prolonging the period during which your nervous system is active, which may throw your body’s clock out of sync with your sleep cycle.
Limit Alcohol Consumption
Even while alcohol can induce sleep, it disrupts the sleep cycle since your body is too busy digesting and processing the alcohol to rest and repair your body and brain.
Additionally, since alcohol is a muscle relaxant, it may make your airway more prone to soften, which is dangerous if you have sleep apnea.
Sleep Not too Hungry or too Full
It is ideal to go to bed with a good appetite. Before going to bed, a snack may be helpful.
When you have a late snack or dinner, watch that you don’t overeat before bed and that you have enough food in your small intestines for your body to relax into sleep without having to conduct a lot of digesting.
Additionally, lying down after eating frequently causes acid reflux or makes it worse. Additionally, acid reflux might keep you awake at night even if you are completely unconscious of it.
Regular Exercise
Sleep requires regular exercise. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which are produced in excess and may interfere with your body’s capacity to initiate and sustain sleep, can be eliminated through exercise.
Your body temperature can rise as a result of exercise. The body’s internal clock will benefit even more if you time your exercise to coincide with the regular rise in body temperature.
Before doing a heavy exercise, perform some light activity (like jumping jacks or climbing stairs) for a few minutes to keep your core warm.
In order to prevent a surge in temperature that can prevent you from falling asleep, it is advised that you avoid exercising just before bed.
Dim Light
People spent all of their nighttime in darkness before the invention of electricity. We now stay up after the sun sets in places where artificial light is present.
This throws off the biological clock of our body. The brain receives a misleading signal from lights instructing it to be awake and active.
For instance, the hormone melatonin is released by your body when it is dark. It makes you sleepy. It influences how the resting cycle is structured as well. Before going to bed, you might want to dim or darken your environment to help with this process.
Turn off Electronic Devices before Bedtime
Electronic devices are the main cause of sleep disturbance in the modern day. They produce bright, intense images and light that may interfere with your body’s ability to go asleep and stay asleep.
The best course of action is to just use them throughout the day. Make sure to turn off the blue light on your gadget if you aren’t prepared to take a break from using electronics before bed.
More than other light wavelengths, blue light can inhibit the production of melatonin. Applications that filter out certain light wavelengths can be downloaded. Additionally, you can buy orange gel to put on top of the device or blue-blocking eyewear.
Sleep on a Comfortable Bed
As your body’s needs change throughout the course of your life, your perspective of comfort may also change. Think about how firm or soft of a mattress you prefer when deciding how comfortable your bed will be.
Make any necessary adjustments to your bed or bedding by noting how comfortable you are on various beds (such as those in hotels or the homes of family or friends).
It is possible to buy a cheap “topper” to get the ideal sleeping surface if it is not practical to buy the mattress you want.
This is not meant to imply that your mattress needs to be “perfect.” Just keep in mind that we want to encourage adaptability and the capacity to lie in a variety of circumstances. However, we have been working with individuals who attempted to sleep on a chair or a couch, and it was clear that this level of discomfort prevented them from falling asleep.
Limit Disruptions from Your Bed Partners
A key component of effective sleep hygiene is being able to balance your needs for sleep with those of your partner, kids, or pets.
You might want to think about doing a test period of sleep in a room by yourself to see how much better your sleep is if your loved one snore or kick, are unable to get asleep, and take a few steps in and out of bed, or rest on their heads. Then, you may decide for yourself whether the benefits of sharing a bed outweigh the costs.