TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP

Here are a couple of tips and pointers for those wanting to know how to get a better night’s sleep:

SLEEP HYGIENE

1. Try to maintain a routine by going to sleep and waking up at the same time, including weekends. You can use a smartphone app like Alarmy which forces you to complete an action to turn the alarm off.
2. Keep your bedroom for sleeping in and avoid other activities like watching TV or working in bed.
3. Writing down your stresses and worries can help to eliminate going over these worries when you’re lying-in bed. You can use a free app like Evernote to jot down your thoughts, allowing you to come back to them at another time if you need to.
4. Jet lag can be extremely disruptive to your sleep schedule. If you need to adjust your sleep schedule, do so gradually by one to two hours each night, rather than shocking your body by doing it in one go. You can set a timer on your phone, tablet, or computer, or invest in a physical timer that can keep you on track.
5. Bright lights aren’t ideal in the run-up to sleep. However, they are incredibly useful during the day and have a knock-on effect on how well you sleep at night. Try to expose yourself to as much light during the day or invest in a sunlight therapy lamp if there isn’t enough natural light available.

DAY TIME ACTIVITIES

1. Avoid taking naps during the day, even if you’re feeling tired. Sleep debt can lead to reduced amount of sleep at night, causing a knock-on effect of sleep deprivation. To distract you from the feeling of tiredness, put on an invigorating workout on your smart TV or dance to your favourite music.
2. If you must take a nap, keep your nap to a maximum of 20 minutes in the early part of the day. Set the alarm on your phone to ensure you wake up, taking it as far as setting multiple alarms, so you don’t get away with snoozing.
3. Exercising can help to relieve stress and maintain good sleep hygiene. However, exercise gives you energy, so avoid exercising around three to four hours before you go to bed.

EVENING ROUTINE

1. Taking a warm bath can help to relax your body and relieve and stress. Remember to keep the lights dim while listening to soothing music or reading a book.
2. Limit bright lights during the evening. If you need to use lights, ensure these are red lights rather than blue lights to increase the production of melatonin.
3. If you feel like you need to do a physical activity later in the day, exercise like yoga or simple stretches can be enough to satisfy your needs without increasing your energy or body temperature too much. You can get up to 75 free ready-made classes with an app like Yoga Studio by Gaiam. It’s free, and available on iOS and Android.

FOOD AND DRINKS

1. Don’t drink caffeine past noon. Some products contain hidden caffeine that you may not be aware of, like medicines, drinks, and chocolate. Apps like 1Source allow you to scan the barcode of your chosen product, listing the ingredients contained within your food and drink purchases.
2. Finish eating at least one hour before going to bed. Heavy foods can weigh down on your digestive system; however, a light snack like a banana or small bowl of oatmeal can help due to high levels of magnesium and tryptophan.
3. Alcohol can make you feel sleepy but drinking alcohol before bed can cause you to wake up more often during the night, disturbing your sleep. Apps like Drink Coach can help you to track your alcohol intake; it can even highlight how much money you could save by not drinking, allow you to record hangovers, and reminds you how you felt after drinking.
4. If you need to have a drink before bed, consider something light like a glass of water or chamomile tea, two hours before going to bed. This will set you up for the night and will help to avoid waking up to go to the restroom.

TECH

1. Turn off blue light-emitting devices like phones, tablets, computers, and TVs one hour before going to bed as they can harm your sleep.
2. While you might not be looking at your digital devices in bed, it’s best to remove these from your bedroom. Notifications, buzzing, and LED lights can be disruptive to sleep.
3. If you must check something on your computer or laptop before bed, use software like flux which limits blue light and imitates your computer’s display to that of the sun during the day and warmth at night.
4. Blue light-blocking glasses can help to remove the harshest of blue light when using devices. Use these during the latter part of the day if you must watch TV, check your emails, and so on.

SETTING UP YOUR SLEEP ENVIRONMENT

1. Maintain your bedroom’s temperature between 60 and 67 degrees Celsius using a smart thermostat like the Google Nest Learning Thermostat.
2. When in bed, turn your alarm clock away from your view by putting it in a drawer or turning it around. Clock watching can keep you awake and stop you from making good sleep habits.
3. If you have pets, consider keeping them outside the bedroom so they don’t disturb you during the night.
4. A comfortable mattress is key to getting a good nights’ sleep. Invest in a mattress that offers at least a 10-year guarantee, ensuring you cover it with a protector to reduce the risk of dust or bed mites.
5. It’s important to ensure your room’s humidity is at the right level; you can use a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity in the air, or a humidifier to add humidity to the air. Most smart humidifiers and dehumidifiers can be programmed to set schedules, and some can even detect the humidity in the air and adjust it accordingly.
6. If you’re struggling to relax before going to bed, your smartphone or tablet can help (if you’re using it for the right reasons). Headspace is a mindfulness app that can get your mind in the right zone for a good night’s sleep. It’s available for iOS and Android.
7. Light sleepers or those with noisy distractions may find investing in a pair of earplugs.
8. While blackout blinds or curtains can help not to let too much light in, this can be detrimental to allowing natural light in as morning breaks. Smart blinds can be programmed to open and close at set times and schedules and could make a huge difference in your sleep hygiene.

DURING THE NIGHT

1. If you have trouble falling asleep and are awake for more than 10 minutes at a time, take yourself off to a dark room for a little while, then return to bed.
2. If you’re prone to back pain while sleeping, place a pillow in between your knees to properly align your hips.
3. Outside noises can be a distraction. If you’re finding that your bedroom isn’t as quiet as it should be, you can drown out unwanted noise by using a white noise machine. If you don’t want to invest in a machine, there are plenty of white noise apps on the App Store and Google Play Store.
4. Just remember to keep your phone out of reach, so digital distractions do not tempt you.

Contents per makeusof.com