Good sleep is a kickstart to good health. We go through different stages of sleep each night, but the most important is our deep sleep stage of NREM, or non-rapid eye movement. This stage is where our body repairs and regrows our tissue and muscle and restrengthens our immune system. It is an essential part of sleep and one that, if you don’t sleep well or long enough, you could be missing out on.
Follow these tips to enjoy a restful night and wake up refreshed, ready to take on your day.
Set The Stage
A dark and comfortable room is essential to a good night’s sleep. Even the glow from a to bright alarm clock could interrupt your shut-eye. If blocking out all of the lights isn’t an option, try a comfortable sleep mask for proper shut-eye.
Leave The Snooze Button Alone
It can be tempting to hit the snooze button and get in “just five more minutes” in the morning, but those five more minutes might ruin any of the sound sleep that you had gotten through the night. Your sleep has already been interrupted, and a short snooze isn’t going to bring you back to that much needed refreshing sleep.
Choose Your Evenings Drinks Wisely
There are two drinks that are detrimental to a goods night’s sleep. We all know that a cup of coffee an hour before bedtime probably isn’t going to help us sleep, but did you know that your afternoon jolt of caffeine, or the Coke that you enjoyed with dinner, could stay in your system for hours? Lay off the caffeine by mid-afternoon to snooze the night away.
The second drink that can interfere with a good night’s sleep might surprise you. Many people believe that a glass of wine before bed can help them sleep like a baby, but the opposite is true. Sure, a drink might help you fall asleep faster, but once it wears off, you’ll be waking throughout the night, interrupting your precious deep sleep. Try not to have a glass of alcohol more than two hours before bedtime.
Unplug To A Refreshing Sleep
Smartphones, laptops, televisions, and more. There is so much technology in our lives, but they shouldn’t be in the bedroom. Power down your electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime so your brain knows it’s wind-down time and not time to be alert.
Clear Your Mental Desktop So You Can Sleep Soundly
There is nothing worse than trying to fall asleep at night only to have your mind creating a to-do list for the next day, replaying the days’ events, or trying to recall what’s in the freezer as you meal plan through the week. Create a list of the next days’ to-do’s well before bedtime, so it’s not something on your mind when you’re trying to sleep. And just in case you do think of something at night, keep a notepad by the bed so you can jot down your thought and move on to more pressing matters -snoozing.
