Just as exercise and a balanced diet are important to your mental and physical health, so does better sleep. Lack of poor sleep will drain your daytime energy, emotional balance, weight, and productivity. Unfortunately, most of us find it difficult to get a good and uninterrupted sleep. But do you know that you can control how good your sleep will be?

The cure to your interrupted sleep lies in your daytime routine. The time you wake up in the morning, daytime naps, the amount of light you were exposed to, your diet, and the physical activities you had will all affect how well you will sleep at night. Unhealthy activities during the day will negatively affect your sleep hence affecting mental and general health. However, if you are looking forward to getting proper sleep, read along to know-how.

Tips to Getting a Better Sleep

Stick to a Sleep Schedule

A better and healthy sleep should consist of not less than eight uninterrupted hours. It is recommended for a healthy person to sleep for seven hours. Ensure that you go to bed and wake at a similar time each day. If you need to extend your sleep pattern on weekends, it should not be more than an hour.

Sticking to your sleep schedule reinforces a wake-sleep cycle. If 20 minutes goes by without falling asleep, leave your bedroom and do something relaxing. Maybe you can listen to a piece of soothing music or read a book. Go back to bed when you feel sleepy and tired. You can repeat this as much as needed.

Avoid Too Much Irregular or Longtime Naps

Though short naps during the day are beneficial to your health, long and irregular naps during the day will have negative impacts on your nighttime sleep. Too much sleep in the day interferes with your internal sense of sleep hence struggling to sleep at night.

In some cases, people get sleepier during the day after taking daytime naps. While a 30 minutes nap may enhance how your brain works, longer naps during the day may harm your general health and how well you sleep at night. However, some people who take regular naps during the day do not experience low quality and interrupted sleep. If you take regular naps during the day and still sleep well at night, then you should not worry since the effects of daytime naps manifest differently to different people.

Avoid Consuming Caffeine Late in the Day

Caffeine has countless benefits and is consumed by 90% of the United States population. A single dose of caffeine enhances sports performance, energy, and focus. However, if consumed late in the day, it may stimulate the user’s nervous system, stopping their body from naturally relaxing at night. Avoid consuming caffeine up to 6 hours before going to sleep to avoid low-quality sleep. Caffeine can stay in your blood system for 6-8 hours. Therefore, consuming it after 3-4 p.m. is not recommended, especially for those sensitive to it or who experience difficulty sleeping.

Increase Bright Light Exposure During the Day

Our bodies possess a natural time-keeping clock known as circadian rhythm. It affects our brain, hormones, body, and helps us stay awake by telling our bodies when to fall asleep. Exposure to natural sunlight during the daytime keeps your circadian rhythm healthy. This improves daytime energy and enhances good quality sleep at night.

In individuals with insomnia, natural light during the day improves sleep quality and duration. It reduces the time one takes before falling asleep by 83%.  In older people, a 2 hours exposure to bright light increases sleep by 2 hours and sleep regulation by 83%. Ensure you are exposed to sunlight or get artificial bright light bulbs.

Want a Better Sleep? Watch What You Eat

Avoid going to bed hungry or stuffed. Particularly, avoid large, heavy amounts of food a few hours before bed. If you get to bed with any discomfort, you might stay awake for a long time. Avoid nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol as much as possible. As earlier stated, caffeine and nicotine keep you stimulated for hours. These effects can hurt the quality of your sleep. While alcohol can make you fall asleep fast, it can disrupt your sleep later as the night goes by.

Let Physical Activities Be Part of Your Daily Routine

Include physical activities in your daily routine. Lack of it might cause you to have prolonged daytime naps that may later affect your night sleep. However, avoid too much physical activity too close to bedtime.

Manage Your Worries to Get a Better Sleep

Try to manage your worries before bedtime. For instance, write down your fears and set them aside to be attended to tomorrow. If you go to bed with lots of staff in mind, you tend to spend a lot of time tossing and turning in the night.

Create a Conducive Environment

Your bedroom should be ideal for sleeping. This means a quiet, cool, and dark place. Avoid bright light at night since it can affect the quality of your sleep. You should also avoid light-producing screens minutes before bedtime. Try taking a bath before sleep to promote a night of better sleep.

Avoid Cellphones in Your Bedroom

Cellphones are great in disrupting sleep. Avoid these devices in your bedroom at all costs. Picture this. After doing everything possible to fall asleep; you get a phone call or a notification. The fact is that you will definitely be awake. After this, you will go through the same hustle as before to fall asleep again. To avoid this, keep your cellphones out of your bedroom to enjoy an interrupted sleep.

Final Thought

Almost everyone experience occasional sleepless night. However, if you experience trouble sleeping for a long time, visit your doctor to identify the cause. There might be underlying causes causing sleep loss, and identifying and treating them might be the beginning of great and quality sleep.