Boost Your Brain with These Helpful Sleeping Habits

Boost Your Brain with These Helpful Sleeping Habits

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It’s hard to overstate the importance of a good night’s sleep. Getting that full seven to nine hours of rest is something that many of us take for granted, but the consequences can be pretty dire if we go without getting enough sleep for a sufficiently long period of time. While some of us might believe that we possess the rare ability to do just fine on a small amount of rest, the opposite might actually be true. An insufficient amount of sleep may be taking its toll on you, and you may not even know it!

Still, regardless of how much sleep you think you need, when it comes time to put your head on your pillow, it can sometimes be next to impossible to actually drift off to dreamland the way you’re supposed to. And the inability to fall asleep can be surprisingly stressful: Not only are you robbed of your rest, but now you’re locked in a race against the clock, with each hour you waste trying to drift off counting against how much rest you’ll be able to squeeze in when you finally do.

The busier we get, the more important it becomes that we actively promote healthy sleep cycles in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes falling asleep can feel like a particularly tall order, but with the right strategies in place, you’ll find yourself in a deep sleep in no time at all.

Change Up Your Bedroom

Believe it or not, the environment in which you sleep has a tangible impact on how well you’re able to do it. Take stock of your sleeping chambers, and see if you can make a few improvements here and there, that might promote better sleep habits and allow you to have an easier time relaxing your body and mind each night. Thick “blackout curtains” are an easy way to limit stray ambient light that might be keeping you awake, and a white noise machine can help you tune out any obnoxious background noise keeping your brain active when you want it to be settling down.

Keeping your sleeping area clean is another way to promote restfulness and relaxation, and it can be downright surprising how far the right temperature goes when it comes to your ability to fall asleep. Experiment with open windows, fans, or even an air conditioning unit if you’re finding yourself uncomfortably warm.

Watch Out for Screen Time

Blue light can seriously interrupt our sleep cycles, which is why it’s generally accepted as being the smart choice to avoid screen time too close to bedtime.

The medical community is still very much in the process of learning about how different light frequencies interact with our bodies, but right now it’s believed that blue light (like the kind that comes from a smartphone, laptop, or TV screen) interrupts the body’s production of melatonin, which we use to help us get to sleep. Cutting out screen time close to bed is a smart way to avoid a fitful night of sleep.

Improve Your Diet and Start Exercising

Changing up the quality of what you put into your body is always going to have a noticeable impact on what you get out of it, and this principle definitely applies to your sleep cycle. Think of it this way: When your body is getting everything it needs, it’s able to produce hormones and maintain itself with no problem, and those hormones are a big part of what regulates your sleep cycle. Enjoy a balanced diet so that you can sleep well night after night, and avoid eating more than a few hours before bedtime, for an easier time falling asleep. Regular exercise can also improve your sleep quality and duration. Just be sure not to work out right before bedtime because strenuous activity before bed can cause sleep difficulties.

Insufficient sleep can cause some pretty big problems, both mentally and physically. Your body needs to adequately recharge each and every night, but sometimes that’s a bit easier said than done. We live in a stressful world that sometimes just never seems to stop, and it can be difficult to quiet our minds when it’s time to actually lie down for the night. With the right habits in place, though, you can fall asleep like a baby, every single night.

Guest Blog Post by:

Brad Krause graduated from college in 2010 and went straight to the corporate world at the headquarters of a popular retail company. But what started as a dream job soured quickly. After four years of working 15-hour days and neglecting his health, he decided enough was enough. Through aiding a friend during a tough time, Brad discovered his real calling-helping people implement self-care practices that improve their overall wellbeing. He created SelfCaring.info to share his own knowledge and the many great resources he finds on his self-care journey.