Sleep is an essential component of our mental, emotional, and physical health, and its absence may create major disturbances in our daily activities.
However, the quantity of sleep required by each individual is determined by a variety of factors, including age. Infants require around 16 hours of sleep each day, teens require 9 hours, and adults require 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep.
If a person has been deprived of sleep in the preceding days, the amount of sleep required rises, resulting in a “sleep debt.”
Furthermore, insufficient sleep causes more than simply a fatigued sensation. It can have a detrimental impact on your ability to pay attention, concentrate, reason, solve problems, and make decisions.
It’s acceptable to have a restless night now and again, but if it’s become a regular, you should reconsider your sleeping habits.
- Prioritize a good night’s sleep: Every day, set aside 7 hours for undisturbed sleep.
- Establish a consistent sleep-wake cycle: Establish and keep to a regular nighttime routine. With rare exceptions, sleep and wake up at the same time every day, including on weekends. This aids the proper operation of your biological clock’s circadian rhythm.
- Keep a sleep journal: A restless night is often caused by stress and nervous thoughts. Whenever you feel yourself worrying excessively, jot down your racing thoughts in a notebook; this may greatly reduce tension and anxiety.
- Avoid using electronics before bedtime: Blue light from LED displays inhibits the body’s generation of Melatonin and tricks the brain into believing it’s still daytime even if it’s nighttime.
- Practice nighttime rituals: Physical routines such as putting on evening clothes, brushing teeth, and combing hair signal to the brain that it is time to sleep.
- Avoid using your bed for anything other than sleep and sex. Sex, on the other hand, is proven to lower stress hormones in the body and can help you sleep better.
- If you haven’t fallen asleep within 30 minutes of coming into bed, or if you’ve woken up and are having trouble falling back to sleep, get out of bed and find a comfortable place to sit or meditate. This helps to reframe the relationship between bed and rest/sleep rather than a place to stay awake. Checking your phone for emails or SMS is a bad idea. Only go back to bed when you’re tired. Earplugs, eye masks, and sound conditioners are examples of sleep aids that can help you get a better night’s sleep.
Getting enough excellent sleep on a regular basis is critical for proper immune function and overall health. To achieve a good night’s sleep on a regular basis, try all of the ways listed above.