Tips for better sleep
Your behaviours during the day, and especially before bedtime, can have a major impact on your sleep. Sleep hygiene plays a big role in helping you get a good night’s sleep. Here are some healthy sleep habits:
1 Be consistent. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including on the weekends.
2 Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing and at a cool, comfortable temperature.
3 Remove electronic devices such as TVs, computers and smartphones from the bedroom. Reading the news while you’re in bed is not helpful. If you’re used to reading a book, keep it down to between 10 and 15 minutes. Avoid social media at all costs; even if someone is wrong on the internet, it’s not your problem to fix it.
4 Avoid blue light. If you must keep your phone with you, turn it off. Melatonin, the hormone produced by the pineal gland at night, serves as a time cue to the biological clock and promotes sleep anticipation in the brain. Blue light suppresses the secretion of melatonin at night and shifts circadian rhythms, depriving you of sleep.
5 Avoid large meals before bedtime. The later you eat, the less your body is prepared to sleep, which can also have adverse effects on your memory and efficiency for the next day.
6 Avoid caffeine and any other stimulants. Avoid alcohol. It may make you fall asleep faster, but it will also make you wake up frequently.
7 Get some exercise. Being physically active during the day can help you fall asleep more easily at night. Don’t exercise before bedtime as this will just wake you up when you should be winding down.
8 Don’t work late. Heightened mental activity before bed makes you alert and will keep you awake for much longer. Think of it this way: it takes us between 30 and 60 minutes to boot up in the morning, and the same to shut down at the end of the day. Keeping your mind alert until you get into bed is a recipe for sleep deprivation.
9 If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed. Go and do a quiet activity without a lot of light exposure. It’s especially important to not get on electronics.