On average, an individual will spend around two thousand nine hundred and twenty hours asleep every single year. Although this seems like a ridiculously high number, the truth is that sleep is crucial to a functional and healthy brain and body.
So, if you have been experiencing problems either getting to sleep or staying asleep, then you have come to the right place.
Here are four simple ways to improve the quality and duration of your sleep.
Daily Exercise
Even the busiest of people who spend their time rushing between their professional responsibilities and their personal ones will be able to find time to fit in at least fifteen minutes of exercise each day.
Not only will this mean that when it is time to go to bed and sleep your body will be thankful for the rest, but just a small amount of physical exercise every day will also afford you the following benefits:
- A healthy aid to weight loss
- A way to boost your core energy levels
- Improved condition of the skin
- Reductions in various aches and pains
- A higher libido
- Improved focus, memory, and concentration
Control the Temperature of Your Bedroom
It can sometimes feel as if the main reason why you are struggling to get to sleep is that your feet are freezing cold or you are sweating so much under the covers that you cannot get comfortable.
Investing in a smart thermostat for heat pump will mean that you can entirely control the temperature in your bedroom from wherever you are in the house, or indeed away from home, so when it is time to go to sleep, the room is exactly the right personal temperature to allow you to sleep.
Stop Using Your Phone!
The blue light emitted by the screens of tablets, televisions, computers, and smartphones is so strong and powerful that it can start to affect your brain, and when it comes to wanting to sleep, looking at your phone is exceedingly counterproductive.
If you need some kind of stimulation to distract yourself from your thoughts keeping you awake at night, you could instead choose to play a podcast or audiobook to get you to sleep and set an alarm that will automatically stop playing after a certain amount of time.
Avoid Caffeine & Alcohol
Part of relaxing at home before you go to bed and after a hard day at work is to settle down on the couch with a snack or two and a nice glass of wine.
However, if you are really focused on looking for ways to improve your sleep for the long term, you should start to look at what food and drink you are consuming each night. As a general rule, try and avoid drinking any form of alcohol or eating any chocolate or other products containing caffeine after nine o’clock at night, as both will act as stimulants.