10 Things To Do Before Going To Bed Every Night
Your sleep is tightly connected to your environment. So to ensure a great night of sleep here are a few tips of what you can do before going to bed.
Turn Off the Lights
The artificial lights in our home, similar to the effect that lights on our electronics have on us, also affect how our bodies produce melatonin. The less we have on before going to bed the better. Now you don’t have to be in your home in the dark but a few lights will help your body release melatonin to help you go to sleep quicker.
Get Ready for the Next Day
Being prepared will lead to a successful morning. Doing this at night will save you so much time and stress in the morning. Things you can do the night before would be packing your lunch, getting your work or homework together in its proper place, and making sure you know where your keys are. These are just a few things that you can do and every person’s morning is not the same so do what will be helpful for you.
Set a Schedule
As an adult we have to schedule and plan for pretty much everything we do, so the time we lay down to sleep shouldn’t be any different. Our bodies operate like a clock. Going to sleep at the same time will help your internal body clock find its natural rhythm of when to release melatonin and when to wake up. It will only take a few days for your body to adjust to the new sleep schedule. Not going to sleep at the same time can cause headaches, irritability, and drowsiness. Who would want to be around a person with these types of issues? I know I wouldn’t and what would make it worse if that person was you.
No Caffeine 2 Hours Before You Go to Sleep
Did you know that caffeine can stay in your body for up to 10 hours after consumption? It’s best to avoid large amounts of caffeine in the late afternoons and evenings. It takes longer for caffeine to process in adults, which means you will be up longer. So if you don’t need the caffeine, don’t drink it.
Meditate
There are so many benefits to meditating. How would it feel to get a full night of sleep with no distractions? Meditating helps the body as well as the mind wind down. Meditating should take about an hour to practice before going to bed. The adult human body requires about 7-9 hours to be completed restored. To be able to get your body the maximum amount of sleep meditates. You will be able to sleep better and deeper when you’re not stressed and when your mind is empty. When your environment is quiet and you are able to focus your mind, you will be able to go into deeper levels of sleep. Which will make your body feel amazing in the morning.
No Food 2 Hours Before You Go to Sleep
This causes many negative side effects to the body. The one that I find to be the most important is weight gain. Eating large meals before you lay down to sleep slows down your metabolism. If gaining weight is not bad enough imagine being awoken by heartburn, indigestion, or even acid reflux. These things can occur when eating a large meal before going to bed. It takes the human body hours to empty the stomach of an entire meal. Is a large meal worth being awoken by acid reflux? I don’t know about you, but I’ll pass. Waking up constantly in the middle of sleep can cause you to be groggy and irritable in the morning.
Take a warm bath or shower.
Your body temperature tells your mind when it’s time to sleep. When you get out of a warm shower and the cool air touches your skin it cools your body down. This then tells your body to get ready for sleep. A shower too hot or too cold wakes up your body which is the opposite of what we are trying to do when getting ready to go to bed. A warm shower or bath forces you to detach yourself from technology unless you have a waterproof television or phone. This is also a good cleansing for your skin and health.
Clean Up Your Room
The way the brain operates is based on its environment. Waking up to a clean room will help give you clear thoughts. A room full of clutter and disarray will place your thoughts in that type of environment. If you can remove stress and disarray from your mind, wouldn’t you want to? A clean room would improve your thought process, sleep, and improve your health by removing clutter and dust.
Set Your Clothes Out
This brings less stress to your mornings which may make it more effective. The mornings are usually rushed and your outfit for work shouldn’t be. It should be neat and professional. Putting a few extra minutes, into your wardrobe can speak volumes to those that see you the next day.
Power Down Electronics
The earlier the better. The lights in electronics like cell phones, tablets, video games and computers delay the body’s internal clock. The light sends a message to the brain telling it to wake up. This is like how the sun wakes up the body and you know to get up because it’s morning. While your body is being told to wake up from the light the release of melatonin is suppressed. The artificial blue light affects sleep because increases the release of cortisol in the brain. Cortisol makes us more alert. This is something that we definitely don’t need before going to bed. Electronics have many negative effects on the human body can lead to sleep deprivation.
