Are you feeling cranky and irritable after tossing and turning the whole night?
Are you feeling anxious and sleepy throughout the day?
There might be a chance you are not getting enough sleep. Sleep and mental health are closely interlinked.
If you don’t get enough sleep, your brain might not function well. When you are sleeping your brains and bodies work to repair and restore themselves.
So, if you want to keep your mind in tip-top shape, it’s time to prioritize those Z’s! Whether it’s through developing healthy sleep habits or seeking professional help for a sleep disorder, taking care of your sleep is an important step toward achieving optimal mental health.
In this blogpost we are going to dive deeper into the top tips on how to sleep well. But before discussing these sound sleep tips, let’s understand the different problems you might be facing while sleeping.
What problems you might be facing while sleeping?
Sleep is an important component of your life. Everybody needs a sound good night’s sleep to function properly throughout the day. But many of us have problems while falling asleep; here are some of the instances you might be experiencing:
- You find it hard to fall asleep.
- You find it hard to stay asleep.
- You wake up in the middle of the night frequently.
- You wake up earlier than you’d like to.
- You have problems that disturb your sleep like, panic attacks, nightmares, flashbacks or psychosis.
- You find it difficult to wake up and get out of bed.
- You are constantly feeling tired and sleepy throughout the day.
- You find yourself sleeping a lot throughout the day, and at times you want to stay awake.
What causes problems with sleep?
Determining what may be the cause of your disrupted sleep cycle is different for everyone. There can be many reasons that might be affecting your mind and making it difficult for you to have proper sleep.
Here are some of the probable reasons that might be affecting your sleep:
- Stress or worries relating to family, financial issues, job, health issues, or housing.
- The place where you sleep has a lot of distractions or is uncomfortable for you which is disturbing your sleep.
- The chance of having a sleep disorder.
- When you are a parent or a caregiver, you don’t get sufficient time to sleep.
- Working night shift jobs.
- Underwent trauma in past or present
- Consumption of recreational drugs or alcohol.
- Mental and physical health problems which can affect sleep cycle.
What is the relationship between sleep and mental health?
Mental health and sleep are correlated. If you are suffering from any kind of mental health issues you might find it difficult to sleep and if you are not having a proper sleep schedule, it can negatively impact your mental health.
Sleep determines your mental and emotional health. If you didn’t sleep well, you might feel irritated and exhausted. Sleep has also been demonstrated links to depression, anxiety and other conditions.
During the various sleep stages that make up the sleep cycle, brain activity changes. There are brief spurts of energy during NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep, but general brain activity slows down.
Each stage contributes to brain health by facilitating the ramping up or down of activity in various areas of the brain and improving thinking, learning, and memory. Brain activity, while we sleep, has a significant impact on our emotional and mental well-being.
The brain’s ability to interpret emotional information is facilitated by getting enough sleep, particularly REM sleep. The brain works to analyse and retain thoughts and memories when we sleep, and it appears that lack of sleep is particularly destructive to the consolidation of emotionally positive information. This is linked to mental health illnesses and the severity of those disorders, and it can affect mood and emotional reactivity.
The Good Sleep Guide: 10 Effective Tips on how to sleep well?
Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for our physical and mental health. Poor sleep can lead to a range of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to improve your sleep quality.
Here are some tips on how to sleep well:
1. Increasing bright light exposure during day
Your circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock that keeps time.
It has an impact on your hormones, body, and brain, keeping you alert and letting your body know when it’s time to sleep.
Your circadian rhythm is kept healthy by exposure to natural sunlight or strong light during the day. This is one of the best tips on how to sleep well as it increases both the quality and length of the night’s sleep as well as daily energy.
2. Reducing blue light exposure during evening
Daytime light exposure is advantageous, however nighttime light exposure has the reverse impact.
Once more, this is a result of how it alters your circadian cycle and deceives your brain into believing that it is still sunlight. This lowers the levels of chemicals like melatonin, which promote relaxation and deep sleep.
The deadliest kind of light in this regard is blue light, which is produced in enormous quantities by electronic gadgets like computers and cell phones. Reducing this blue light is a great tip on how to sleep well.
3. Reducing caffeine consumption
90% of Americans drink caffeine, which has many advantages.
One dose can improve concentration, vigor, and athletic performance.
Yet, caffeine stimulates your nervous system when consumed late in the day and may prevent your body from properly resting at night.
Your blood levels of caffeine can remain elevated for 6 to 8 hours. Thus, one of the best tips on how to take sound sleep is to not consume a lot of coffee after 3 or 4 o’clock, especially if you are sensitive to caffeine or have difficulties falling asleep.
4. Reducing daytime long naps
Long or inconsistent naps during the day can have a negative impact on your sleep, despite the fact that quick power naps are advantageous.
Sleeping during the day might throw off your internal clock, making it difficult for you to fall asleep at night. Therefore, another one effective tip on how to take sound sleep is to avoid these regular daytime long naps or atleast reduce their duration.
You shouldn’t be alarmed if you regularly snooze during the day and get enough sleep. The consequences of napping vary from person to person.
5. Setting a sleep routine
The circadian rhythm in your body runs on a predetermined loop and synchronises with sunrise and dusk.
Consistency in your sleeping and waking hours can improve the quality of your long-term sleep.
Another one of the best sound sleep tips is to develop the practise of waking up and going to bed at comparable times if you have trouble falling asleep. In a few weeks, you might not even require an alarm.
6. Avoiding alcohol
Drinking a few beers at night can have a detrimental impact on your hormones and sleep.
Snoring, sleep disruption, and sleep apnea symptoms have all been linked to alcohol consumption.
Moreover, it modifies melatonin production at night, a crucial component of your body’s circadian cycle. Therefore, avoiding alcohol is an extremely effective tip on how to sleep well.
7. Changing the bedroom environment
Many individuals think that getting a good night’s sleep is mostly dependent on the bedroom setting and environment.
These elements include air quality, background noise, outdoor lighting, and furniture placement.
Therefore one of the best tips on how to sleep well is to reduce external noise, light, and artificial lighting from things like alarm clocks in your bedroom to the absolute minimum. Ensure that your bedroom is a peaceful, comfortable, tidy, and enjoyable space.
8. Avoiding late night snack
The natural release of HGH and melatonin as well as the quality of sleep can all be severely impacted by eating late at night.
But, the type and quality of your late-night snack may also be important.
One study found that eating a high-carb dinner four hours before bedtime made participants fall asleep more quickly.
9. Taking a shower before bed
Another one of the best sound sleep tips to get more rest is to take a soothing bath or shower.
According to studies, they can assist people, especially older ones, fall asleep more quickly and improve overall sleep quality.
If you prefer not to take a complete bath at night, you can still relax and get better sleep by merely immersing your feet in hot water.
10. Exercising and being fit
One of the best, most scientifically supported sound sleep tips to enhance your schedule is exercise.
It has been used to lessen the symptoms of insomnia and can improve all elements of sleep.
Although regular exercise is essential for getting a good night’s sleep, exercising too late in the day can interfere with sleep.
Exercise’s stimulating effects, which raise awareness and the production of chemicals like epinephrine and adrenaline, are to blame for this.
Takeaway
In conclusion, there is a strong relationship between sleep and mental health, and a healthy mental state depends on receiving enough adequate sleep. Lack of sleep over an extended period of time can cause mood changes, irritability, and even more serious mental health problems including despair and anxiety. But, having enough good sleep can significantly improve our mental health by enabling us to control our emotions, deal with stress, and keep a happy outlook. We hope these tips on how to sleep well will help you effectively prioritize your sleep schedule.
You may set yourself for success in all areas of your life by prioritizing your sleep and taking precautions to safeguard your mental health. So, the next time you’re tempted to skip out on sleep or stay up late, keep in mind how crucial sleep is for preserving mental health and make getting enough rest a top priority.
There are many yoga techniques available that you can practise to achieve sound sleep and be more alert and productive during the day. To learn more about the yoga poses, click here.
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