6 tips for better sleep

Good sleep is the key ingredient for a healthy body. The benefits of sleep are very important and have a catalytic effect on the quality of our lives. Studies have shown that lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and favors the onset of depression. Individuals aged 18 - 64 years should ideally sleep 7-9 hours every night. However, many suffer from insomnia, restless sleep, or continuous awakenings during the night.

What can you do to improve the quality of your sleep?

1. Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule

The only sure thing is that you can't be watching the clock to sleep at the exact same hours every day. However, it is very important to develop a sleep routine that does not deviate much from the sleep/wake times you have set based on your schedule. Only in this way will the body know when it needs to rest and when to give full energy. If the sleep schedule is irregular, the biological clock gets disrupted and you feel constantly tired, as the body cannot distinguish peak hours from rest hours. Within this routine, you can incorporate habits that you have noticed help you relax, such as listening to relaxing music before sleeping, drinking a warm beverage, taking a warm bath. This way, the body and mind prepare to switch off!

2. Light Exercise

30 minutes of exercise in the late afternoon has a beneficial effect on sleep quality. Beyond the obvious fact that it tires you out, it also balances hormonal levels in the body, making it easier to fall asleep. However, be careful! Intense exercise late at night has the opposite effects on individuals with sleep disorders as it increases alertness and hormones such as epinephrine and adrenaline.

3. Eat Right

Your meals should be completed 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. Consuming a large amount of food late at night can negatively affect the quality of sleep as it hinders the natural release of growth hormone and melatonin. Prefer light meals for the hours before bedtime and drinks such as valerian, linden, and chamomile that relax and help you fall asleep faster. Avoid stimulants such as coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, alcoholic drinks, and smoking, as nicotine belongs to the psycho-stimulant substances.

4. Reduce Exposure to Blue Light

Blue light, i.e., the light from mobile screens, tablets, TVs, etc., affects the circadian rhythm which regulates the sleep/wake cycle, resulting in sending wrong signals to the brain, indicating that it is still daytime. This reduces sleep hormones like melatonin, which helps you relax and sleep deeply. There are protective glasses with filters that block blue light, as well as apps that adjust the screen color to reduce eye strain.

5. Stable Room Temperature

Take care of the space to achieve ideal sleep conditions. The bedroom should be clean, ventilated, with appropriate temperature and lighting. Experts recommend 18.3 degrees Celsius as the ideal sleeping temperature, but the ideal is relative. It should definitely range between 15.5 to 19.5 degrees. Keep in mind that the body needs to lower its temperature by 1 degree to remain in a sleep state. So make sure you have the right covers and prefer lightweight fabrics that allow freedom of movement.

6. Invest in the right mattress and sleep pillow

We spend ⅓ of our lives on our mattress, so we should make sure it is the right one for our needs. It is an investment that definitely changes the quality of our lives, so we must do good research and try it out before settling on the one that will help our body rest. The same applies to the pillow, which should be ergonomic and of good quality, so that it supports the neck.