A good night’s sleep is one of those things that everyone is entitled to, but very few get. The average Indian adult sleeps six or fewer hours per night. Most of us fall asleep late and are too groggy in the morning to wake up with the first ring of the alarm. Luckily, there are some tips and tricks which experts believe could help you in combating these issues.
- Stick to a routine
Your body has an internal clock which you simply do not want to mess with, so create a timetable and stick to it. Pick a particular time to wake up and for naps. It’s better to not stay up very late as it’s been seen that people sleep best between 10 pm and 4 am. Your body needs a light rest every 6-8 hours, so afternoon naps are important but you have to make sure it’s a nap and doesn’t turn into a 2-hour snooze! Sleeping for less than 4 hours or more than 10 hours could be detrimental to you health in the long run.
2. Lights out
Brights light can be a distraction, and they’re not recommended for good quality sleep. If somebody else needs the lights on, switch to using eye covers so that your eyes receive their much-needed rest.
3. Eat at least 2 hours earlier
After a heavy meal at night, you are likely to feel sleepy for a short spell but ultimately your stomach will be working overtime to digest it and you won’t sleep well since your body isn’t designed to sleep while digesting. Proteins especially require a lot of breakdowns. Also, you store fatter if you sleep immediately after eating. Even caffeine can cause sleep problems for up to 12 hours of its consumption so avoid it after evening, and the same goes for alcohol. However, a cup of warm milk could help you sleep better.
4. Stay away from mobile phones and televisions
It was seen that people who read books before falling asleep have a much easier time doing it than people who tinker around with mobile phones or laptops. They emit blue light which confuses your brain as to the time of the day and hence makes it harder to fall asleep. So try to finish off your gadget-related work by two hours before sleep time. Light reading before bed time is guaranteed to make you drowsy.
5. Take some time off
It’s not easy to fall asleep instantly after getting a load of work done. So experts suggest that people take some time off before sleep as it helps ease their mind into an easy-going state making the transition for consciousness to sleep easier.