There is no other way to recharge your brain and body than to get some much-needed rest through sleep. Sleep is an integral part of human life and without it, your health can quickly deteriorate. This is why getting as much restful sleep as you can manage is necessary.
With today’s hectic life and busy schedules, it seems like an impossible task to clock an eight-hour sleep schedule every night. If you can’t get enough hours, what can you do? The best way to deal with sleep deprivation is to learn how to optimize sleep.
The Science Behind Sleeping Properly
The first thing to remember is that not all of the practices mentioned by sleep studies are effective for everyone. The key is to find the right balance between your comfort and your need for sleep. A part of learning how to optimize sleep is to try different suggestions and to see which mix of things work the best for you.
Note that if you are interested in optimizing your sleep, it’s not really about sleeping for a shorter number of hours to increase your daily productivity.
Sleep optimization is about getting the best sleep possible on a daily basis. With that in mind, the suggestions mentioned below are some techniques that have been proven to work by a few experiments done during sleep studies, but they are not guaranteed to work.
When experimenting with sleep optimization do not expect to get the best sleep of your life after just one try; it will take a few tries until you finally master these tips.
Sanitizing Your Sleeping Space
Sanitizing here means that you clear out your sleeping space with things that can interfere with your sleep. The first to go are electronics. Television sets, electric clocks, and smartphones are the biggest reasons why people today cannot get enough sleep; keep these out of the bedroom and it’ll make a big difference.
Other things that can affect the quality of your sleep are light and noise from the outside. Those who live in big cities where it’s impossible for the night to be dark and quiet can invest in some sound and light canceling curtains, or, if that’s too expensive, earplugs and a sleeping mask will also help.
Eating Right
The biggest misconception about eating and sleeping is that you gain weight if you eat right before going to bed. This is not true and trying to sleep with an empty stomach can actually impair your sleeping and keep you up all night.
To get a better sleep at night, eat a light and healthy snack before bed. This will give your body enough energy to fix what it needs to fix when you’re asleep and your hunger will not keep you up at night.
Start a Sleeping Ritual
It may sound a bit crazy, but having a bedtime ritual actually helps in giving you a good night’s rest. This is because your brain relaxes when you engage in a repetitive pattern which also gives you a “zoned out” state to get you ready for bed.
Your rituals can involve anything that is repeated on a nightly basis at will not require your brain to be active. Things like eating a light snack, taking out the trash, and brushing your teeth are great rituals to practice before bed.
Stay Active During the Day
One reason why people cannot fall asleep at night is because they have too much pent-up energy in their body.
Exercising regularly or just being on the move will help your body and brain release all the energy, leaving you ready for bed at the end of the day. While exercise is good, also take note that doing too much can lead to a restless night. Find the right balance of exercise and sleep and you’ll be good as gold.
Don’t Overdo Substances
Many people rely on sleeping pills for a restful night. Although these can be useful at times, relying on them will turn into a dependency. Take sleeping aids only as a last resort.
Experimenting is the Key to Success
There are other factors you can look into when learning how to optimize sleep, but the key is to give them a try. If one suggestion does not work, try another or combine a few of them. This way you’ll find the best techniques that will encourage a restful and optimized sleep.
