Choosing the Right Setup for Restful Sleep

If you are feeling tired in the mornings or you feel slower during the day, you may need a night of quality sleep.  To feel more energized during the day, you need to have a good night’s sleep. But, if you have lousy sleeping hygiene, this is more easily said than done. Here are some sleeping tips on how to sleep better at night.   

1. Create a calm bedroom

Our room, and especially our beds, are a significant cause of bad sleeping hygiene. For example, a quiet and peaceful environment allows our brain to signal to the body that it’s time for sleep. But calm and peaceful does not mean entirely sound-free.  A lot of people listen to white noise or other ambient music while they are sleeping. This music helps us relax and fall asleep, but it also masks the noises from the outside that could disrupt our sleep. Another major cause of our bad sleep is our bed. If your mattress is not hard or soft enough, it is going to be troublesome to fall and stay asleep. Choosing the perfect mattress can be a challenge, but once you find the one that fits you correctly, you will instantly feel the difference in your sleep quality and energy levels.   

2. Remove the blue light

Maybe you have heard that you should limit your screen time a couple of hours before going to bed. In today’s world of technology, this is quite a challenging task, but your digital devices do affect the quality of your sleep.  The artificial blue light that your device emits stimulates your brain and disrupts the natural processes in your body, which can prevent your production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleeping cycle. Even dim blue light exposure can significantly influence your melatonin levels. So make sure to turn off and move your devices from your bedroom before going to sleep.  To protect yourself from blue light overexposure, as a result of working the night shift, consider making blue light blocking glasses your new best friend.   

3. Stick to a sleep schedule

If you think that scheduling your sleep is impossible, you are mistaken. Actually, having a good sleeping routine can improve not only the quality of your night rest but also the amount of time your body needs to fall asleep.  For example, make a 1-2 hour ritual that you go through every night, starting with your shower or brushing your teeth. Once you have repeated the cycle a couple of times, your body will learn that showering or brushing your teeth means that it is almost time for sleep, and will start preparing your body.  It is important to be consistent with your sleeping ritual, even on the weekends; that way, you will train your brain to take the cue much faster and with better success. It is up to you what you will put in your schedule so that you create the best sleep routine, but keep in mind that all technology or brain stimuli should not be included. 

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