Simple Hacks for Solving Your Sleep Issues
I think we can all agree: nothing in this world can replace deep, plentiful, peaceful sleep. With a good night’s sleep, we experience increased energy levels and clearer thought throughout the day. When we’re more energetic and more effectively thoughtful throughout the day, productivity increases. When productivity increases, there are benefits for ourselves, everyone around us, and everything we’re involved in.
Unfortunately, many of us don’t experience this, because we’re deprived of the blessing of falling asleep and staying asleep.
Many of us stay awake late because of back pain or headaches and some of us have disordered sleep cycles. Some of us even suffer through the misfortune of managing to get to sleep, but waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep.
Disrupted sleep patterns have a very bad impact on our overall health. It doesn’t just affect the brain but other parts of our body as well
Fret not, because our team has got you covered.
The following are some methods and techniques to avoid the chaos that interrupts your sleep.
Let’s get started.
- Watch What You Eat.
Many of us forget about healthy eating habits as soon as food is placed in front of us, especially when we’re hungry. But negligence in your diet can lead to severe health problems later, including sleep issues.
The food that we eat before going to bed affects our sleep. For instance, high-carb meals have been proven to have a detrimental effect on our sleep (in other words, unfortunately those late-night air-fried french fries are probably not the best idea).
Many studies that have been conducted over the past few years have concluded that a high-carb meal can help us in falling asleep faster, but the sleep won’t be peaceful. A high-fat diet has shown a tremendous effect on sleep to the contrary.
Generally speaking, a combined high-carbohydrate and low-fat diet lowers sleep quality and quantity.
If you have to have those carbs in the evening, eat that high-carb meal at least 5 hours before going to bed. Daytime is the best time to enjoy high-carb foods.
- Read Your Favorite Book.
Books are the best sleep-inducing therapy. Reading provides many benefits; not only is it a good source of providing knowledge, but it’s also a great way to encourage your brain to sleep faster. Various studies have shown that reading before bed can actually encourage longer sleep.
Many people think that reading e-books before bed provides the same benefit as traditional books. That’s simply not true. Avoid exposure to e-books, especially at night, because they emit blue light that eventually affects our health and reduces the secretion of melatonin. Eventually, a lower concentration of melatonin makes it difficult for us to sleep.
“(Reading) is a great way to encourage your brain to sleep faster.”
- Do Some Writing.
Another factor that might be impeding you from a good night’s sleep are random worries. Many of us experience such things before bed- in many cases, we’re left to be alone with our thoughts and we keep thinking about them no matter what. They could have a negative impact on a person’s overall health.
The best way to get rid of such irritable random thoughts is to ignore them and write all the good things that happened during the day. This technique will help relieve you from your worries and will help you get the desired quality and quantity of sleep.
You can also write about all the positive things that will be taking place in the future.
It is recommended to practice this technique for at least 20 minutes every night. Remember, your focus shall always be on positive events only and how you feel about them. Your ultimate goal is to make the brain happy and get rid of things that are making it worry.
- Avoid Caffeine.
The harmful effects of caffeine on our sleep can’t be emphasized enough. Many of us drink coffee or tea before bedtime thinking it will wipe away all the tiredness and let us sleep peacefully, which is totally wrong.
Undoubtedly, caffeine fights with fatigue but it also makes our body and brain alert making it difficult to sleep. Coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks and sodas contain caffeine. So avoid them at least 5-7 hours before bedtime.
If you crave coffee or another caffeinated hot drink before bed, try to replace it with a soothing tea like chamomile. These herbal teas are known to promote relaxing sleep.
A study has shown that chamomile tea has very positive effects in inducing quality sleep and decreasing depression.
- Take Sleep-Improving Supplements.
Supplements are very helpful in solving health problems. Whether you’re experiencing vitamin or mineral deficiency or sleep issues, supplements are a simple way to help the problem.
Sleep supplements work by increasing the production of sleep-promoting hormones.
Some sleep supplements that are widely taken and are worth buying include;
- Magnesium. Magnesium supplements are very useful in triggering the neurotransmitters that induce sleep. The ideal and recommended dose of magnesium supplements for sleep is 500 mg. every day.
- Melatonin. Melatonin is produced by our body naturally but sometimes when the production is low due to external or internal causes, it is advisable to take supplements. Melatonin supplements regulate the sleep effectively. The recommended dosage is between 0.5 to 5 mg. 2 hours prior to your bedtime routine.
- GABA. GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, is produced by our brain. It prevents some transmitters and assist the central nervous system in relaxing. The ideal dose of this supplement is between 250-500 mg.
- 5-HTP. Also known as 50hydroxytryptophan. It is an amino acid that is known to boost the serotonin production and help us in sleeping faster. The average dose is about 600 mg. once a day. This dose can also be divided. Tryptophan is very ideal in treating insomnia. If you can’t manage buying or consuming this supplement you can also eat a banana 2 hours before going to bed. Banana has good amount of tryptophan in it.
- Don’t sleep during the day.
Taking naps in the daytime sometimes takes a toll on your sleep. The lack of sleep at night makes us sleep during the day. Scientifically, short naps are very useful during the day as they make us alert and help us in accomplishing our unfinished tasks.
But some studies have suggested that naps that are 2 hours or longer result in a poor nights sleep.
If you really want to nap, take it for an hour- not more not less.
Conclusion.
There are a variety of factors that distort our sleep patterns. Keeping an eye on them and adopting healthy habits can make a lot of difference if practiced regularly.
To get the best health results, try personalized health plans by Total Holistic Center. Our team will research you using the latest technology, then design a wellness plan that is perfect for your needs.
Photo by Meruyert Gonullu from Pexels