10 Ways To Get Better Sleep
Simple Ways To Get Better Sleep
It is important to avoid sleep deprivation. Having lack of sleep creates health problems such as heart attack and high blood pressure. It also hampers thinking and concentration. Some people choose to combat this side effect by heavy dose of coffee. But, it might cause further complications that may be harmful.
In this list, we have compiled several unique sleeping tips that you probably never heard of. All in the goodwill of helping you improve your sleeping quality.
1. Exercise Before Bed
If you go to bed after workout, you’ll burn more calories as you sleep. Certain people may become more awake after exercise. So, do the workout 3 hours before sleeping time. The type of exercise also may have affect on sleep. Performing aerobic exercise might keep one more awake. Therefore, focus on anaerobic exercise such as jumping and sprinting.
2. One Teaspoon Of Honey
Just one teaspoon of honey can help you feel rested when you wake up. Be sure to take it before sleep on an empty stomach. Other foods might interfere with its effectiveness.
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3. Staying Still
Keep yourself completely still on the bed for 15 minutes and your body will start to relax. Eventually you will find yourself drifting into dreamland. Do note that you really have to keep yourself still. No twitching your fingers, no changing sleeping posture, just still.
4. Read A Real Book
Study by University of Sussex, shows that reading before bed can help coping with insomnia. It helps the mind entering an alternate state of consciousness. Your mind will immerse into it and that’s when your body starts to relax. Please don’t read on electronic devices because the blue light emitted will interfere with melatonin production. The hormone melatonin is required to induce sleep.
5. Sleeping On Left Side
Sleeping on your left side gives you various health benefits such as relieving heartburn, improve digestion, promotes healthy circulatory system and lymphatic system. This works because of how the body organs and circulatory system are situated. For example, gravity can help the lymph drainage towards the heart when you sleep on left. Sleeping on left also reduces pressure on the largest vein that is located at the right side. Thus, improving blood flow.
6. Cool Temperature
Our body cools off when we sleep. So, if we can help our body reach a lower temperature faster, it will encourage deep sleep. Sleeping at a cooler environment also helps produce more melatonin and burn more calories.
7. 4-7-8 Breathing Pattern
This breathing exercise is said to be able to help you fall asleep in a minute. And, it’s very easy to practice:
- Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds.
- Hold breathe for 7 seconds.
- Exhale through the mouth for 8 seconds with a whoosh sound.
Keeping air in lungs is important as it allows effective gaseous exchange to happen. The key to effective sleep with this technique requires practice up to a month. Your body will start to get used to it and that’s when you can finally fall asleep in just 60 seconds.
8. Listen To Weightless by Marconi Union
Music affects mood. Researchers in Mindlab International conducted a study by asking 40 women to solve a puzzle while listening to songs. One song called Weightless by Marconi Union seems to have induced relaxation the best among other chosen songs. The choice of song varies according to individual. So, do consider making your own playlist of relaxing songs to help you sleep.
9. Sleep Tea
Tea has wonderful benefits on your body. While most tea will keep you awake due to its caffeine content, some can actually help you sleep. Tea such as chamomile, passion flower, lavender, peppermint, lemon balm and valerian root promotes a sense of calmness and helps with anxiety as well.
10. List Problems & How To Solve Them
We all heard about how listing the problems helps us keep our minds off it a bit. But, a study shown that if you list down the solutions to them as well, it will help you worry less. This helps reduce insomnia because you don’t have much worrying things going on in your mind that keeps you awake.
These are just some extra tips to help with you with your sleep. If you think you have serious insomnia condition, please save yourself, consult a doctor. We hope these hacks added a little benefit into your life. If you have any sleeping tips we should know about, let us know in the comments! It may just help another fellow reader.
