You hear the beeping of your alarm and while you are knocking it down you think: “is it 7:00 already?”, but still you do not want to wake up and insist on going back to sleep again. Despite all the struggle, you get out of bed and get ready. Finally, at the end of your day all you need is your bed again, and the same routine happens daily.
By Baboulinet29 licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution
Your feeling during the day depends on the quality of your sleep at night. The point of sleeping is to help us to be effective during the day. Recent studies in US have shown that loss of performance and efficiency due to sleep deprivation, costs businesses more than $100 billion yearly. Therefore, good night sleep will increase productivity and mental activity, and balance emotion all day long. Whether you are a good sleeper or have struggle to fall asleep, it is vital to know the factors that affect the quality of your sleep and the ways you can improve it.
Does your bedroom and its design encourage good sleep? A quiet and dark environment, comfortable mattress and pillow, and correct temperature- not too cool and not too warm- promote better sleep. Light is also a powerful sign that signals your brain that it is the time to wake up, especially the famous blue light of your phones! Your phone’s light tells your brain that it is not the time to go to sleep. If you have a habit of to bed with your phone until you fall asleep, you need to change this habit right now. Melatonin is a substance released by the body which regulates sleep cycle and it is highly affected by light. Therefore, if you are using your phone before sleep or your bedroom is too bright you are suppressing the production of this substance.
Check out the following video by Ratalyst about effects of using phone before sleep:
One other way to improve sleep is to go to bed at around the same time each day which sets your body’s clock to wait for sleep at a certain time. It is also important to try to keep this routine on weekends, otherwise you will have difficulty getting up Monday mornings which disrupts your body’s clock again. Also, waking up at the same time daily is another good approach to maintain internal clock, and in case you could’t sleep well the previous night, try to maintain the schedule and instead get the extra sleep the upcoming night.
Your body automatically controls your sleep intensity, but you need to manage the duration of your sleep by doing such techniques as having a consistent sleep schedule and making the ideal sleep environment. With these strategies you enjoy a better sleep. Bear in mind, you owe to yourself to improve your sleep and your body appreciates you for doing so.
For further techniques on how to improve sleep, check out the following video by watchwellcast:
-Helia Barzandeh
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