How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep Naturally
By Space Coast Daily // December 6, 2020
Getting an adequate night’s sleep is one of the biggest indicators of health. This is just as important as eating healthy food, managing stress, and exercising regularly.
Poor sleep ultimately affects every aspect of one’s life. For instance, brain function, metabolism, and emotional states. Furthermore, chronic lack of sleep can lead to disease.
Getting a good night’s sleep has a positive impact on all other aspects of your life. Evidently, it is integral to living a balanced and healthy life. It is also a contributing factor to success. Sleep is key to productivity.
What is an Adequate Amount of Sleep?
Scientists recommend getting at least 4-5 full sleep cycles every night. This is so that we get enough REM sleep. REM stands for ‘Rapid Eye Movement.’ Each cycle switches between deep sleep and REM sleep. However, REM sleep happens later in the night.
It is recommended that adults need 7-8 hours of sleep every night on a comfortable affordable mattress. This is to gain the maximum restorative benefits. However, this is not as easy as it sounds. Many people struggle to get to sleep and stay that way. In this article, we are going to explore the best ways to get a good night’s sleep naturally.
1.) Stay Away From Electronics
We live in a technological age where everyone seems to constantly be using electronic device. This is extremely common before bed. However, this exposes your eyes to blue light. Unfortunately, this has a really bad effect on your sleep.
The blue light that you’re exposed to doesn’t appear blue. It appears white. However, the wavelengths range from 400 to 490 nanometers. This radiates from all electronics.
Interestingly, blue light also comes from the sun. This is why many people wake up feeling energized when exposed to the sun. This has a negative effect before bed. Our bodies naturally wind down as it gets darker. We are no longer getting energy from the sun. However, when we are staring at screens our brain forgets this.
Evidently, it is extremely important to put away electronic devices before bed. Otherwise, your technology will trick your brain into staying awake. Try journaling or meditating before bed. These are all slower and healthier ways of winding down at night.
2.) Don’t Eat Late at Night
It can be difficult for some people to get into a routine. We live in a very hectic, busy world. Thus, eating late can become normalized. However, this is not a healthy habit to get into. This means that our muscles must work late into the night. This is when they should be resting.
Naturally, this affects your ability to fall asleep at a decent time. Even if you get to sleep, it may not be as restful as you need. Therefore, you may wake up feeling unrefreshed.
There are other negative impacts related to eating late. It increases your blood sugar and blood pressure levels. It also affects you metabolism, which often leads to weight gain.
You should try to leave 2 hours in between when you eat and when you go to sleep. However, longer than this is better. 3-4 hours is recommended by many doctors. You should also eat an adequate amount throughout the day. This may prevent you from binging out late at night.
3.) Exercise Regularly
It is no secret that the majority of people don’t get enough exercise. Obesity is still on the rise, now topping 40% according to reports. Accordingly, many jobs are stationary. This means that some people are sitting for 8 hours a day. Accordingly, it may be difficult to fit in time to exercise.
However, this needs to be considered a priority. Not getting enough exercise often leads to lack of sleep. It can also reset the sleep-wake cycle. Exercise raises people’s body temperature. It then drops and triggers sleepiness.
There are some exercises that are better for sleep than others. Aerobic exercises get your heart rate up. This allows your body to relax into a deeper sleep later in the day. Experts recommend walking, running, cycling, and swimming.
It’s important to remember that exercising vigorously before bed could be counter-productive. This could be a shock to your system. Furthermore, you release adrenaline when you work out. Consequently, this will not allow you to transition into sleep very easily. Make sure there are 2 hours between the time you finish your workout and when you go to sleep.
4.) Use CBD Oil
Using CBD for sleep has increasingly become normalized. Consumers can now choose between hundreds of products. New research is continually emerging in relation to the many benefits of CBD.
CBD has been evidenced to alleviate various symptoms. This is with both physical and mental disorders. Although new research continues to emerge, the current research is promising.
People have always used cannabis for medicinal purposes. Many people who struggle with sleeping have tried using CBD. There is evidence to support that CBD helps people fall and stay asleep.
CBD is an active ingredient in cannabis. However, it is not impairing. This means that you can safely use it in large amounts. This has helped many people who have struggled with insomnia. CBD is natural and accordingly, it’s growing in popularity. Websites such as CBD Oil Sleep Guide are some of the best sources for more information and product choices.
5.) Improve the Environment you Sleep in
Many people underestimate the importance of calming sleep space. Even small changes to your environment can make a huge difference. Try changing some things in your bedroom if you’re not getting adequate amounts of sleep.
Your room should be kept dark. Again, lightness triggers the brain to think that it’s time to wake up and be alert. It’s best to keep your room cool and quiet as well. This is so that there are no distractions for you.
It may be difficult to keep your environment quiet. We have no control over traffic or noisy neighbors. However, you can purchase a fan or use a white noise machine. Furthermore, earplugs prove to be helpful.
It is important to reserve your bedroom for sleep. Using it for other purposes creates different associations within the brain. Therefore, it may be harder to wind down at the end of the night. Your brain should only create one association – your bedroom and sleep.
Conclusion
It’s clear that getting an adequate amount of sleep is imperative to one’s well-being. Accordingly, not getting quality sleep can be detrimental to your overall health. This then affects all facets of one’s life. Therefore, learning natural ways of falling and staying asleep is extremely important.
Making small changes to your sleep routine allows you to wake up feeling refreshed. You will have more energy during the day. This ultimately leads to being more productive.