Good sleep is essential to good overall health. However, the reality is that many struggle with getting deep sleep that is truly restful. Not only is a lack of good sleep detrimental to your health in general, but it can reduce your energy levels over time and cause you to become prone to serious health conditions like heart disease, depression, and diabetes. The good news is, though, that while poor sleep is a common problem there can be many simple and natural ways to start getting better quality sleep today.
Watch Your Diet
What some don’t realize is that their diet can have a direct impact on their sleep quality. This is because the foods you eat can have an impact on your hormones, which are also connected to your sleep quality. If you frequently eat foods high in sugars and refined carbs, these foods will cause your blood sugar to spike and crash. These spikes and crashes can make you feel exhausted and interfere with your hormonal balance, which can make it harder to fall asleep at night. To avoid these issues, reducing your intake of sugar and carbs, especially right before bed, can be beneficial.
Try CBD
Along with watching your diet, there are substances you can try that can help you relax and get better sleep quality. While some may think that CBD is the same as marijuana, the reality is that it doesn’t contain the active ingredient, THC, that makes it psychoactive. Instead, CBD gummies contain other substances that come from the hemp plant that are naturally relaxing and great for doing things like curbing anxiety and getting better rest at night.
Avoid Certain Drinks
Just as the food that you eat can affect your sleep quality, so can the beverages that you drink. This can be particularly true when it comes to caffeinated drinks. While caffeine is a great way to wake up in the morning or have energy throughout the day, because it stimulates your nervous system it can also keep you up at night. This can be particularly true if you drink caffeinated drinks late in the afternoon or the evening. If you want to make sure that you are able to fall asleep at night, avoiding caffeine during the afternoon and evening, and limiting it to the earlier hours of the day instead can be a good idea.
Caffeine isn’t the only drink that can keep you awake at night, alcohol can do this as well. While some may still be able to fall asleep after drinking alcohol, it can still prevent you from getting good sleep. This is because it disrupts sleep cycles, and can cause you to wake up easily. While having a drink or two from time to time may not be seriously disruptive, regular drinking could lead to overall poor sleep quality.
Stick To a Schedule
If you want to fall asleep easily at night, sticking to a regular schedule is important. The more that you do this, the more that your body will know that it is time to go to bed at a specific time, and the easier it will be for you to fall asleep. The reason for this is related to your circadian rhythms, which are your body’s natural rhythms that help it know when to eat and sleep. The more that you can stick to a consistent schedule, the more in tune you will be with these rhythms and the easier it will be to get deep sleep at night.
Have a Relaxing Night Time Ritual
Having a relaxing night time ritual can be another great way to signal to your body that it is time to go to bed. A bedtime ritual can help you relax and unwind, as well as prepare you physically and mentally for sleep. Some great things to do before bed to get you into the mood to relax can include gentle stretching, like yin yoga, as well as meditating, reading, writing in a journal, doing deep breathing exercises or taking a hot bath with essential oils.
Work It Out
What you do during the day can have just as big of an impact on how you sleep at night as anything that you do right before bed. This can be especially true of any physical activity that you do. When you work out, it can not only use up excess energy that could keep you awake at night, but it also can have a beneficial impact on your hormones as well. When you exercise you can help balance many of the hormones that are related to energy levels, as well as sleep quality. Beyond that regular exercise, at least 20 to 30 minutes a day, can help reduce issues like depression and anxiety, which can both have detrimental effects on your sleep quality.
Have a Good Sleeping Environment
The environment you sleep in can have a lot to do with how well you sleep. If your bedroom is bright, noisy, and hot, it is very likely that you will have issues falling and staying asleep. Having an uncomfortable bed can also cause issues when it comes to sleep as well. The good news is, though, that it can be easy to create the right sleeping environment for you. Room darkening blinds or curtains can be a great way to keep out excess light. Additionally, if your room is exposed to a lot of noise, sound panels can be helpful, as can ear plugs. Also, by turning down the heat before you go to bed you can help ensure that you’re getting better sleep, as there is some evidence that many sleep better in cooler temperatures.
Nix Bad Bedtime Habits
While working to improve your sleeping environment, you should also take steps to improve your bedtime habits as well. There are many things that can impede your ability to sleep well that you might not have realized. One of the biggest culprits is television, as well as cell phone or tablet use. While watching TV or scrolling through your phone may seem like relaxing, passive activities to do before bed the reality is that the light that emanates from these devices can actually signal to your brain that it is time to wake up, rather than sleep.
Some Last Thoughts
Good sleep is a necessity for good health. However, many still struggle to get a good night’s rest. That doesn’t mean, though, that it is something you just have to struggle with. From watching what you eat and drink to changing your bedtime habits, there are many natural ways that you can start getting better sleep today.