10 Tips for Perfect Sleep

The benefits of sleep cannot be overemphasized, here Amara Nicole Okolo shares 10 tips for getting the best snooze every night.

 

Regarded as one of the fundamental biological inventions known to man, sleep plays a vital role in promoting longevity, physical health and emotional well-being. Sleep also rejuvenates the body.

It’s like a builder at a construction site: it first starts with the tools of relaxing your mind and putting your brain to a near-dead state (don’t be scared—you don’t actually die), then goes to major work of rebuilding all those worn-out muscles and nerves that had overworked themselves during the stresses of the day.

Those relaxed nerve-endings make your skin pores open up; letting in the essential air they need to reinstate themselves as they were before. This would explain why after a good night’s sleep you feel better; your thoughts are sharper, and your emotions are less fragile. Not to mention that your body feels 80% lighter and more refreshed.

Without adequate sleep; your moods, judgment and ability to retain viable information are weakened.

But how many of us are getting enough sleep? Studies show that people who get the right amount of sleep on a regular basis are more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who sleep too few or even too many hours a night.

Here are 10 tips for getting a good night’s sleep:

1.  Only go asleep when you’re sleepy. This helps to reduce the time you are awake in bed, and enables you to fall asleep almost immediately whenever you are relaxed.

2.   Wake up and go to bed the same time every day and every night. Even on the weekends! Ridiculous idea for nocturnal partygoers, I know, but once your sleep cycle has a regular rhythm, it increases your chances of good and early sleep, which is better than when you have an irregular pattern of sleep. This will also save you from becoming an insomniac and you will feel much better mentally and physically when you wake up.

3.   Can’t fall asleep on time? Get up and do something boring. Don’t just lie there scrutinizing the decoration on your ceiling—sit up or lie quietly in the dark and reminisce about your day, re-read the sale-stamp sticker stuck on your bedpost, murmur nursery rhymes (no, you will not sound weird), or simply think of nothing at all. Avoid bright lights; this will give signals to your brain that it is time to wake up, and that will definitely hinder the sleep you so much desire.

4.  Ignore that Stairmaster! As recommended, regular exercise is somewhat essential to help make you sleep, but the timing of the workout is important. Exercising in the mornings or early afternoon may not interfere with sleep, but running on that treadmill twenty minutes before you hit the hay definitely will.

5. ‘Teach’ your body how to fall asleep easily. Form a habit of sending messages to your brain that it is time to slow down and go to bed. This can be beneficial because once your body gets the message that it is tired, it will begin to shut down and you’ll start feeling drowsy—which is a good sign for a good sleep. Achieve this by having a lazy, aromatherapy bath, or by listening to relaxing music (such as blues, soft soul or RNB). You could also cuddle up with a sleepy read (like coffee table books, poems; why do you think kids always ask to be read bedtime stories?), or you could have a cup of caffeine-free tea, like lemon or chamomile tea. If you are the meditating type, you could do some relaxation exercises like yoga or Pilates.

6. Banish caffeine, nicotine and alcohol a few hours before bedtime. Caffeine in coffee and nicotine in cigarettes are sure-fire stimulants that can cause major disaster to that plan of yours for a good night rest. Coffee, tea, cola, cocoa, chocolate (yes, chocolate, sorry chocoholics), and some prescription and non-prescription drugs contain caffeine. Alcohol may seem a perfect inducer to knock you comatose as it slows down the activity of the brain, but the bad news is you will end up having fragmented sleep (waking up at intervals), and this would just make you feel more tired and groggy in the morning when you wake up, a.k.a a hangover.

7. That bed is for sleeping, not watching Grey’s Anatomy. Avoid using your bed to watch TV, do official paperwork, typing on a laptop or reading for a test. This takes away the comfort feeling of your bed and its original purpose—which is to sleep. Once you refrain from doing any of the above, your body will automatically know it is bedtime as soon as you hit the sheets. (N.B: Sex is the only exception *wink*)

8.  Snack before you hit the sack. Going to bed on an empty stomach is a no-no for the achievement of great sleep—be rest assured to wake up for some midnight binging if you do this, and that is harmful for your health. However, eating a heavy meal before going to bed is also not a bright idea—you will feel uncomfortable and most likely pass out gas, which can be frustrating to the next person in the room with you, not to mention embarrassing. Having a light meal is the best option—it digests faster and you would feel less nauseous in the morning. Also, certain dairy products such as milk and turkey contain Tryptophan, an enzyme which acts as a natural sleep-inducer. This can explain why a warm glass of milk can be helpful if one has difficulty sleeping or going back to sleep.

9. A hot bath saves time…and so does clean laundry. A hot bath will raise your body temperature alright, but it is the drop in the body temperature in the subsequent hour and half following it that will leave you feeling sleepy. Secondly, make sure your bed and bedroom in general is clean, comfortable and quiet. Let’s face it—an itchy, dirty bedspread is a no-good for the “zzz” moment. Not only will you feel uncomfortable but you will be unable to have a nice rest. Ensure that your bed sheets and blankets are crispy clean to encourage a more relaxed and uninterrupted sleep time. Avoid sleeping in hot rooms; a cool room with blankets to stay warm is recommended. We live in the tropics which can be hot with zero humidity, especially in the North, so air conditioners and fans are a good option to quell the heat. If you can afford an air-humidifier, get that too. Or simply leave your windows open with the drapes pulled together to let in fresh air. If the rising sun in the morning bothers you, either get blackout shades for your windows or a slumber mask over your eyes. If noise is your sleep invader, wear earplugs.

10. Go Medieval: Make the sun your wake-up call. Forget the movies—an alarm clock suddenly jolting you awake with its impromptu buzzing may actually prevent you from feeling drowsy those first few minutes, but it is not good for your brain and heart, especially if you are hypertensive. Want to wake up with calm nerves? Simply do it the quiet and natural way—by waking up with the sun. You can achieve this by placing your bed to directly face the window, at exactly the point where the sunrays hit as the sun rises. Those streams of sunlight can be the best biological alarm clock to calmly arouse you from your slumber. If you still feel super tired for a long while after waking up, you could go outside (to either your verandah or the steps of your front door), and turn your face upward to the sun for fifteen minutes. This gives signals to your brain that it is finally time to jumpstart and get ready for the day.

Have fun counting those fluffy sheep!