Sleep Hygiene, 6 Steps to Healthy Sleep to Overcome Insomnia
Most people need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. But in fact, only a handful of people are able to meet their daily sleep needs due to messy lifestyles and sleep patterns. In fact, sleep deprivation has long been linked to various serious health problems, from heart attacks to strokes to diabetes. Especially for men, lack of sleep can reduce testosterone levels and lower sperm count.
Don’t want to deal with some of the terrible stuff above? This is the time for you to start changing your sleep habits and patterns over the years. Introducing sleep hygiene, healthy sleep patterns that can help you sleep better.
What are sleep hygiene patterns?
Sleep hygiene is a clean sleep pattern. The point here is not to go to bed with a clean, fresh body after bathing and brushing your teeth, but rather to adopt healthier sleep habits to clean up all kinds of disorders that usually make you sleep deprived or sleep poorly.
Sleep hygiene helps improve messy hours of sleep and treat sleep disorders like insomnia. This healthy sleep pattern helps build better sleep habits and makes you more disciplined and consistent in living it, to reduce the kinds of negative consequences of lack of sleep.
Steps to do sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene is campaigned by health professionals to remind people to prioritize sleep. Good sleep is important for maintaining a healthy body from within.
Here’s how to get sleep hygiene.
1. Limit consumption of food and drinks before bed
Avoid eating large portions before bed. Eating heavy meals, fatty or fried foods, spicy dishes, citrus fruits, and carbonated drinks too close to bedtime can trigger indigestion for some people. Lying down after eating can cause the acid to rise back up into your throat, causing stomach upset and a burning throat that makes it easy to wake up in the middle of the night.
Also avoid consuming caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes before bed. The stimulant effects of caffeine and nicotine can last for several hours when consumed 3 hours before bedtime, so they can disrupt your sleep until the residue is washed off the body. Many people may realize that only drinks like soda, tea, and coffee contain caffeine, but foods like chocolate also contain caffeine.
2. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time
Scheduling sleep on time is one of the most important first steps if you want to start sleeping better. If you are used to sleeping regularly, your body will get used to it too. As much as possible schedule time to sleep and wake up at the same time (+/- 20 minutes) every day, even though on holidays. For example, if you need to wake up at 6 a.m. then you should have to go to bed at around 11 p.m.
By adhering to a regular sleep schedule every day, your body becomes lighter, warmer, and the hormone cortisol is also released more regularly, giving you a kick of energy for your activities. The effect of compensating for sleep deprivation during the workday by sleeping longer during the weekend will be more harmful to your body’s metabolic function.
3. Limit the hours of naps
Naps are not really a good way to make up for a short night’s sleep. For people whose sleep patterns are already chaotic, naps don’t help you at all. Naps can actually make it difficult for you to fall asleep at night.
However, if the situation requires you to take a short break, limit naps to a maximum of 30 minutes and do so before 3 p.m. Taking a short nap of 20-30 minutes of goods can help improve mood, alertness, and performance.
4. Create a special ritual before bed
Take the time to prepare for bed for 90 minutes before bedtime. For example, if you know you should go to bed at 11 p.m., stop any strenuous physical activity at 9:30 a.m., or sooner if you can.
Use this time to take a warm bath / bath, drink milk, meditate, read a book, or do stretching yoga. A warm bath or light exercise a few hours before bed can raise your body temperature, causing you to become drowsy when your body temperature drops back again. Research shows that drowsiness is associated with lower body temperature.
Also use the remaining time available to prepare all your needs for the next day, including your work clothes, lunch and breakfast, to avoid stress due to being overwhelmed in the morning.
5. Create a comfortable sleeping environment
Make your bedroom an ideal place to sleep. Make sure your bedroom is a dark, cool, and quiet place. The ideal room temperature for a restful sleep is 20-23 C. Use earplugs if you can’t sleep in a noisy environment.
Try not to use your bedroom for anything other than sleep and sex, so that your body becomes accustomed to associating the bedroom with rest time. Keep computers, cell phones, TVs and other electronic devices out of reach. The bright rays of electronic devices work to mimic the natural light properties of the sun. As a result, the body’s biological clock perceives this light as a signal that it is still morning, and therefore the production of melatonin (the sleep-inducing hormone) is disrupted.
6. Exercise regularly
Exercise generates energy and also helps reduce stress, anxiety and depression. Ultimately, exercising during the day can help you sleep well at night. The post-workout temperature drop helps cool your body, which makes drowsiness come on more quickly, making it easier for you to fall asleep.
On the other hand, exercising too close to bedtime can actually make it difficult for you to sleep. Exercise produces endorphins that increase morale, making it difficult for the body to start sleeping. Plus, your body doesn’t have enough time to cool down again. It’s best to get regular exercise before 2pm every day to encourage healthier sleep patterns.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
