Healthy and sound sleep is very important – while sleeping, our body rests and accumulates strength and energy. Most people do not pour out their necessary “dose” of sleep. We have gathered some simple tips on how to your improve sleep and peacefully snuff in your pillow for the whole night.
1. Regulate your breath with method «4-7-8»
The way we breathe greatly affects the physiology and mental processes, including mood. During this exercise, you must concentrate on breathing.
Method:
Exhale completely through your mouth with a whistling sound. Close your mouth and calmly inhale through your nose, counting to yourself up to four. Hold your breath, thinking mentally to seven. Exhale fully through your mouth, making a whistling sound, counting to eight. This is one breath. Now repeat the cycle three more times.
2. A warm bath before bedtime
A warm bath helps to relax and prepare the body for sleep. As soon as you leave the bathroom, a message will be sent to your brain that you are ready – it’s time to catch some Z’s. Although scientists can not explain this phenomenon, but it really works!
3. Pull your legs out from under the covers
Keep one or both feet outside the blanket – this will help you fall asleep sooner. It’s all about temperature fluctuations, between a warm body under a blanket and cool feet.
4. Avoid bright light
Blue light from TV, smartphones or computers can suppress the production of melatonin in the body, which also leads to sleep disturbance.
5. Eat little at night
It is unnecessary to load the stomach with food – instead of sleep, your body will be busy digesting food. According to research, eating a small portion of food rich in carbohydrates, you will create favorable conditions for sleep.
6. Create complete darkness in the room.
Try to completely eliminate the penetration of light into the room to sleep. The body secretes melatonin best in complete darkness.
7. Improve the fragrance in the room.
According to researchers at the University of Miami, the aroma of lavender slows heart rate, and slowing blood pressure leads you to a parasympathetic state, in other words a relaxed state.
8. Make a To-do list
Before going to sleep, attempt a mind activity like creating to-do list, for example. Answer in your mind the questions and propose tasks- after answering, the brain will be free from them and will be able to relax as soon as possible.
9. Use the rule of 90 minutes.
The process of sleep for each person is cyclical. Taking this property as a basis, a method or “rule of 90 minutes” was created. In brief, this rule is about four phases of sleep, each about 90 minutes each: Light sleep phase, Deep sleep phase, Dream phase And again light sleep phase. You will completely feel energized and awake if you wake up at the end of one of the cycles. To attempt this, schedule your sleep into blocks of 90 minutes.
For example: You have to get up at 8 am, so in order to do this without difficulty you need to go to bed at 11 pm or at 12 am. If you go to bed at eleven in the evening, you go through 6 complete cycles of 90 minutes. The secret isnot getting more sleeping blocks, but waking up at the end of one.
10. Do not smoke before bedtime
Smoking in itself is harmful to our health, and smoking before bedtime is bad even for our sleep! Nicotine is a stimulant, so a smoke break before bed is not the best way to get a good sleep.
