People always ask me questions like:
· Why don’t I wake up Fresh (Feeling Tired)
· My body pains whole day
· Is Mattress only the key point for a good sleep
· I feel lazy and sleepy during day time as well …… and many more
The above are effects of poor sleep. This influenced me to write this blog, which is about the importance of sleep in our life as we spend almost one third of our life in sleeping. Also without any doubts, our energy of the day totally depends on how we slept last night. So yes, all the relevant questions asked to me, are related to our bad routine which spoils our sleep leading to those above deficits in life.
Effects of poor sleep leads to the following:
- One might feel constant tiredness
- Irritability, temper and moodiness
- Loss of concentration, and in severe cases memory loss and hallucinations
- Loss of coordination, in severe cases the incidences of auto accidents increases with loss of sleep
- Problems with relationships
- Absenteeism and tardiness at work
- Loss of appetite or the opposite, over-eating
- Use of prescription sleep aids that could become habitual
- Use of stimulants
- Many more
We all know that if we want to be mentally and physically fresh, productive, sharp, balanced and full of energy, we need to ‘sleep well’ . And by ‘sleep well’ I mean, eight hours of sound sleep without any disturbance. I always believe, “sleeping is one of the best routine to health”.
So following are the tips to follow for a good night’s sleep:
Fix Timings:
Our parents always said to sleep in time and wake up in time. That meant one should have fix time of sleeping and waking up, everyday. Waking up late on holidays breaks your cycle and so one has problem to wake up in time, the next day. I recommend sleeping early and waking up early. Also don’t change the timings once you fix it. It is rightly said “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise".
Avoid Intakes:
Believe it or not, taking stuffs like caffeine, nicotine, alcohol etc. in late evenings surely disturbs your sleep. Don’t eat heavy food in your dinner. Eat your food at least two hours before your sleep time. Also avoid drinking fluids within two hours of sleeping time to reduce the chances of going bathroom midnight.
Sleeping Environment:
1. Keep your room as dark as possible.
2. Wearing an eye mask is also a good option.
3. Keep the room temperature comfortable. Avoid extreme temperatures – too warm or too chilled.
4. Sleep in silence, so avoid TV or music. Although a soft and soothing music would be fine to relax yourself. I have a personal experience of sleeping late when I am trying to sleep watching TV.
Relax Yourself:
Keep your work, thoughts away at least one hour before sleep time. Relax yourself with:
1. Soft music.
2. Deep breathing.
3. Have a bath with warm water.
4. Avoid worrying and brainstorming.
5. Read something spiritual or uplifting.
Comfortable Bed:
Keep your bed reserve for sleeping and not for other daily routine. Example, I have seen many times at my home and other places that people eat or work on the bed. Avoid that and many such activities on Bed.
Also make sure your bed is comfortable and cozy enough to sleep. Choose the right mattress which is comfortable for you. You can read my blog ‘Buying a Mattress’ to know more about it.
Daily Exercise:
Exercising not only helps to keep our body fit, but also it helps a lot for a sound sleep. One should have minimum 30mins of exercise. Morning exercise is recommended and not few hours before sleep time. Over weight can affect your sleep badly, so keep yourself Fat - Free.
Others:
1. Avoid day sleeping. You can have short power nap of maximum 20 mins.
2. Write all your thoughts in your diary to ease your mental pressure.
3. Don’t keep high volume of your Alarm or don’t keep it too close to your bed.
4. I suggest not to share your bed with your pets.
5. If you are not able to sleep, read good book or listen soft music.
I am sure after reading my blog, you will now have a sound sleep … so enjoy your sleep and SleepWell.
If you think this blog was useful to you then please leave your comments. Critics are welcomed too.
