A new decade is upon us, and there’s no time like the present to invest in quality sleep. Getting a solid seven to eight hours each night, and spending enough time in every stage of sleep is vital if you want to get up and achieve your goals every day. While there are plenty of natural sleep remedies to help you drift off, your pre-sleep habits play an essential role too. How you prepare for bed can have a deciding impact on your quality of sleep. Are you ready to develop healthy habits for a better night’s sleep? We’ve listed our top four tips below to get you started.
Our top 4 healthy habits for better sleep:
1. Set a sleep schedule
First thing’s first, you need to set yourself a sleep schedule and stick to it. As a child, your parents likely insisted you hop into bed the same time every night. Yet, as you get older, the bedtime rules of your childhood tend to fall to the wayside. When you’re old enough to decide for yourself, the intoxicating lure of turning in at any hour you please is hard to resist. But resist it you must if you want to develop healthy habits and sleep better.
Your body has an internal clock which follows a natural rhythm of sleep and wakefulness. This circadian rhythm tells your body when to be awake and active, and when to rest. Without a consistent sleep schedule, your body struggles to establish a regular sleep-wake cycle. Often this affects your much-needed deep sleep stage, resulting in poor sleep quality. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps your body regulate its internal clock, keeping you alert during the day and prompting you to wind down at night.
To establish a successful sleep schedule, be sure to listen to your body and plan a bedtime and waking time best suited to your natural rhythm. If you’re a morning person, go to bed early, if you’re a night owl, stay up a bit later. Whatever you do, stick to the same times every day, even on weekends, and make sure you allow for enough sleep.
2. Develop a bedtime routine
Along with a set sleep schedule, nightly healthy habits include a structured bedtime routine to prepare your body for slumber. A calming, pre-sleep ritual (like reading a few chapters of your book or soaking in the tub), helps your internal clock identify when to go to sleep. The key is to choose a relaxing activity so that your mind winds down and releases the stresses of the day. For the best result, stick to the same routine each night. Your body will soon start associating that pattern of activity with sleeping, improving your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Avoid vigorous activity before bedtime. You’ll end up feeling awake and energised instead of sleepy.
3. Turn off electronic devices
Does your wind-down ritual include scrolling through your social media or watching funny cat videos on YouTube? You’re not alone. But, if you’re serious about improving your quality of sleep, it’s time to put down the smartphone (or tablet, or laptop). While you might feel like you’re relaxing, glueing your eyes to a screen doesn’t help you drift off. Instead, it has the opposite effect, keeping you awake and disrupting your sleep-wake cycle.
How does one little screen have such a significant impact on your sleep? Simple. Tablet, laptop and smartphone screens all emit a blue light that disrupts your body’s production of melatonin – the hormone responsible for helping you sleep. If you want to begin your year with healthy habits in the bedroom, you can’t go wrong by banning electronics from the room. Be sure to turn off your screens at least an hour before bedtime.
4. Steer clear of stimulants
We’ve already mentioned two stimulating activities which keep you awake – exercise and screen time, but those aren’t the only stimulants to avoid before bed. Caffeine can disrupt your sleep by masking some of those telltale signs of sleepiness. Try to limit your coffee intake to earlier in the day and switch your bedtime cuppa to chamomile or peppermint tea.
Healthy habits before bedtime aren’t the only thing you need to help you sleep better – you also need a supportive mattress and quality pillow. Luckily, with the help of world-class sleep science and the latest in foam technology, we’re able to offer you the best sleep experience. Explore our Meelu Mattress and Meelu Pillow and order yours today.