5 Lifestyle Changes That Will Help You Sleep Better
Being unable to sleep is one of the uncomfortable feelings one can have. It is worse to spend the whole night turning and tossing on your bed. Sleep is one of the most significant activities in an individual’s life. Lack of enough or good sleep can affect your mental and physical functioning. Multiple reasons cause insomnia that makes people unable to sleep. Here are some of the lifestyle changes if you are looking forward to improving your sleep and lead a healthier life.
Limit Your Activities in The Bedroom
The bedroom is not a place to read your email, watch TV, or scroll through social media. These are some of the distractions that will make you not to enjoy your sleep. Moreover, these activities will stimulate your mind and interfere with you falling asleep. Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode or, better yet, don’t bring your phone with you into the bedroom at all. Make the bedroom a device-free zone.
Physical Exercises
Most of the health problems that people encounter which are related to lifestyle are due to lack of physical activity. Having some physical exercises during the day is a sure way of boosting your energy levels for the day as well as getting a great sleep at night. Engage in more exercises to reduce stress which will allow you to better your nights. Start an exercise program like martial arts that can help your muscles loosen up and release pent-up stress and energy.
Reduce Anxiety and Stress
Stress and anxiety lead to lack of sleep, and lack of sleep leads to anxiety and stress. Lack of sleep will contribute to poor performance which leads to more stress. It’s a vicious cycle if you don’t take proactive measures against it. Some things that you can do to de-stress before bed:
Make a to-do list for tomorrow
Try guided meditation
Focus on the highlights of the day
Drink your favorite herbal tea
Read a book
Write in your journal
Turn on soothing brainwaves or ambient sounds
Eat Dinner Early
A good way to time dinner is to schedule it for three hours before going to bed. If you feel hungry right before bedtime, opt for light foods such as plain popcorn and a glass of milk because eating right before hitting the hay increasing your risk of heartburn and indigestion. Eating dinner earlier also means that your body will spend more time “fasting” overnight while it sleeps, achieving a state of fat-burning ketosis that can help you lose or maintain your weight.
Eat Healthier
Ensure you are eating a balanced diet and decrease the intake of unhealthy foods. If you prioritize protein and healthy fats during dinner or even in your before-bed snack, you’re less likely to wake up starving in the middle of the night. However if your main problem is actually falling asleep, then simple, healthy carbohydrates like brown rice or popcorn are more likely to help.
Sleep is essential for the body to function normally. When you don’t get enough sleep, it will lead to low concentration a well as making you feel weak which causes poor performance. However, several lifestyles changes can help you improve your sleep and lead a healthier life. Related: When Should My Child Start Learning Martial Arts?
