Good Sleeping Habits Go a Long Way!

A good sleep goes a long way!

Good sleeping habits are critical for getting a good night’s sleep. That is essential for both physical and mental health. Poor sleeping habits can lead to a range of health problems, including fatigue, poor concentration, weakened immune system, and increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and depression.

It is important to maintain a regular sleep schedule and get enough sleep each night. A good night’s sleep helps to restore energy, improve concentration and memory, and reduce stress and anxiety.

It can also improve physical performance, help regulate hormones, and reduce the risk of developing chronic illnesses. Therefore, it is important to prioritize getting a good night’s sleep in order to maintain overall health and well-being.

Why are good sleeping habits important to sleep well?

Good sleep is reflected in our daily performance, it makes us learn and process information better, our cells and tissues repair themselves better, and our immune system fights infections better.

Here are a few tips to help you get the restful sleep you need:

1. Keep a routine

Respect the sleep schedules you need. An adult usually needs between 6 and 8 hours of sleep, so you should find the rest your body needs.

Experts strongly suggest that this routine starts at the same time every day and if it varies a little, the schedule should not vary more than an hour earlier or later than usual. This is recommended to reinforce the sleep-wake cycle and for your body to recognize the hours to rest.

Pro tip: Just as we set an alarm to wake up, you can activate a reminder for when your bedtime approaches and you can start your rest routine.

2. Create a comfortable sleeping environment

Did you know that if we add the hours of sleep that a person sleeps, on average, they add up to 25 years of their life? That said, there should be no excuses for the bedroom to be an ideal place for a good rest. Take care of the following aspects to achieve restful sleep:

• Let your room be cool and as dark and quiet as possible.
• Take care of the lighting before going to bed. Having dim lighting at bedtime and avoiding screen use near bedtime can help you fall asleep sooner.
• Invest in a quality mattress. You would be surprised to know that there are many people who have never changed their mattress and wonder why they do not rest. It is essential!

By following these steps, you can create a comfortable and inviting environment that will help you get a good night’s sleep.

Pro tip: If you already went to bed and haven’t been able to fall asleep for more than 20 minutes, leave your bedroom and do some monotonous or relaxing activity in another place. Specialists highlight this point so that your body associates lying in bed directly with rest, and not as a place where you can spend a long time without sleep.

3. Limit naps

Getting enough sleep is essential for good physical and mental health. To ensure that you get enough sleep, it is important to limit naps. Taking naps during the day can interfere with your body’s natural sleep cycle, making it more difficult to fall asleep at night.

According to some studies, the ideal nap should last 26 minutes, although we know that most of the time we extend it up to an hour. It depends a lot on the needs and age of all people.

Pro tip: The recommended time is between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., since after that time we have carried out some activity, be it work or study, and we need to recharge our batteries to continue the rest of the day.

4. Exercise

You’ve heard it before: exercise is good for you. And you need to sleep. But how do they work together?

Well, it’s true that physical activity and sleep each have a lot of benefits on their own, but when you combine them, the results are even better!

For example, studies show that when you exercise in the morning, you’ll have more energy throughout the day to get stuff done—and that means better sleep at night.

So if you’re looking for a way to improve your mood and energy levels without taking any pills or supplements, try exercising first thing in the morning! It’s not just good for your body—it’s good for your mind too.

It has been shown that physical activity, without needing to be a high-impact exercise, helps regulate our metabolism and with it the hours of rest. Take care that it is not a vigorous exercise just before bed, but during the afternoon.

Once you go to bed, you can practice breathing exercises, meditation, and mindfulness to signal to your body that it’s time to slow down.

5.  Watch your caffeine and food consumption

Caffeine and sleep are two things that most of us seem to have trouble getting enough of. Caffeine helps us stay alert throughout the day, but it does not help us sleep at night.

On the other hand, food ingestion tends to make us physically tired, but if we eat too close to bedtime or too much, then we can have trouble falling asleep. This is why eating a large meal before going to bed will cause stomach problems and could disrupt sleep as well.

If you are having trouble sleeping and want to eat something before bed, then a small snack consisting of a balance of nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) is best for promoting sleepiness.

Eating a large dinner just before bedtime can interfere with your sleep. If you are going to have something heavy for dinner, make sure that it is at least two or three hours before sleep. In the same way, consuming caffeine or alcohol close to sleep hours can affect its quality. Even if drinking alcoholic beverages makes you feel sleepy momentarily, it can interfere with your sleep cycle later on.

6. Choosing a good mattress

The importance of choosing a mattress that meets your needs is vital to maintaining good back health. In this sense, there are several factors that you must take into account, such as firmness, durability, back problems, or muscle discomfort.

One of the main reasons for bad sleeping habits is due to mattresses that do not correspond to people’s needs. Making the right choice ensures having better rest and reducing health problems.

In addition, it improves the quantity and quality of sleep, allowing you to recover the energy to recover your body. Keep these tips in mind when choosing a mattress:

• Your sleep position. If you do it on your back, choose a hard mattress. If you sleep on your side, the ideal is to choose one of less firmness that allows you to find a comfortable position.
• Body weight. When you weigh a lot, it is best to choose a firm mattress that offers good support. For lighter people, it is recommended a mattress with greater flexibility that adapts to its shape to better distribute the weight.
• Mattress firmness. A good mattress should seek to maintain the natural curvature of the spine. Therefore, it must be firm enough to support the body well.
• Mattress ventilation. The breathability of the mattress is an important element that must be taken into account in the choice. The ventilation is subject to the materials with which it has been manufactured since they are the ones that facilitate the air to circulate better and that more or less heat accumulates for the body.
• Mattress size. Make sure the mattress is wide enough for a good rest. If it is for one person, it should be at least a twin size. If for two people, a double, queen, or king is preferable. For its part, the length must exceed the height of the person by 7-10 inches (20 centimeters.)

Something to take into consideration: Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes pauses in breathing during sleep. The pauses can be for seconds or minutes and may occur 30 times or more an hour. The episodes usually happen when the throat muscles relax during sleep and block the airway, which prevents proper breathing.

There are better sleeping positions than others for sleep apnea. Knowing what’s best for you can be very helpful in getting a good night’s sleep.

With each apnea episode, the blood oxygen level decreases and then increases, often resulting in broken sleep patterns throughout the night.

Some of the symptoms of Sleep Apnea include:

• More sleepiness during the day than usual
• Waking up with a dry throat or headache
• Waking up frequently during the night
• Difficulty concentrating or mood swings during the day

If you think you have sleep apnea, talk to your doctor about getting tested. If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, there are many treatment options available.

Information can help instill good sleeping habits

Sleeping well is essential, by keeping ourselves informed we can help improve this important aspect of our lives and that for sure will be reflected in every aspect of our health.