10 Habits to Follow to Make Your Sleep a Top Priority Again.
How to get back to sleeping 8 hours a night by taking back control of your sleep.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
You have heard or read this phrase at least once in your life. Yet, too few people actually try to apply the advice behind this phrase.
Indeed, I suspect that you have already pushed your limits to work a little harder and try to accomplish a little more. Your thinking is simple: it's okay to work an extra 2 hours tonight to advance my goals. If you kept your word, it wouldn't have a huge impact on your well-being.
But you know very well, you will give in once, then twice, then three times ... before it becomes a habit. You will eventually sacrifice your rest and sleep in order to accomplish more and more. This will cause you many harms.
The first harm is that you will lose out on the marathon in life by being more likely to die early. Secondly, you will be unable to give your best to the things that matter most to you.
In terms of your health, you will be more likely to develop various forms of diabetes, have strokes, suffer from depression, or be overweight. I'll stop there, but you've seen why it's in your best interest to make sleep a top priority in your life.
Now that the awareness is there, you will say to me: how to make to sleep 8 hours per night? What are the good habits to achieve this?
To help you, here are 10 good habits you should follow on a daily basis. You may find it hard to do this at first, but with motivation and time, you will reap huge benefits.
Optimize your room to sleep better
To sleep well, you need to prepare your bedroom as well as possible. This means focusing on 3 things: light, mattress and temperature. You should sleep in a dark room on a comfortable mattress where it is cool.
Use blackout curtains and turn off all the lights in the room. Buy the best mattress you can afford. It should be firm and your sheets should be of good quality. Finally, make sure you limit the heat in the winter, and keep the room cool in the summer. There's nothing worse than waking up sweating at night!
Use the sun as a trigger for your body
In the morning after you wake up, sunbathe for 5 to 15 minutes. In the evening, take time to watch the sunset. The sun has a tremendous power over your body. It acts as a trigger, telling you that the day is starting or that it will soon end. This will help you better regulate your sleep cycles, allowing you to fall asleep more easily at night.
Beware of caffeine
You think caffeine is your best friend for energy. It's not!
Caffeine will only block your adenosine receptors which will prevent you from feeling tired afterwards. Not ideal for falling asleep …
To this you must add the following information: it can take up to 10 hours for your body to eliminate the effects of caffeine. The conclusion is simple: make sure you don't drink caffeine 10 hours before going to bed. That way, one coffee in the morning will be enough for your day. Coffee after lunch is your enemy if you want to sleep better.
Exercise at the right time
Too many people exercise at night... This is a mistake, because exercise increases your heart rate, your excitement level and your body temperature. All of which will help you stay awake...
You should therefore avoid exercise between 1 and 3 hours before your bedtime. The ideal is to exercise in the morning after waking up.
Make blue light your enemy before bed
The screen of your smartphone normally emits a blue light which is suitable for daytime use but which can disturb your sleep at night. This is because blue light stimulates your brain to think it's daytime, which can keep you awake if you use your device before bed.
Blue light also comes from computers or some artificial lights. Again, you should avoid blue light sources between 1 and 3 hours before bedtime. Basically, this means avoiding screens at night or wearing special glasses that block blue light.
Opt for relaxing activities before bed
Before you go to bed, you need to relax. Your body needs to slow down, and your brain activity needs to slow down. You need to slow down to bring your body temperature down. It is in your best interest to choose activities that help you achieve this state.
Use a notepad to clear your mind
We all have a lot of thoughts in our heads at night. Emotions even. Things that will occupy your thoughts before you sleep and sometimes even disturb your sleep. The best thing to do is to free yourself from all this by writing everything down on a notepad. Once you have written your thoughts or emotions down on paper, your mind will be free to move on.
Make Meditation Work for Your Life
Meditation will change your life if you choose to practice at least 10 minutes a day for a month. Meditation reduces your anxiety, slows your heart rate, and lowers your blood pressure. Ideal for falling asleep and getting your 8 hours of sleep each night.
Go to bed at regular times
This habit is difficult, but it is necessary. Your body follows its own internal clock. You should do your best to go to bed at the same time each day. Make this a habit, and stick to it. You will be surprised at how much it will benefit you.
Stop using your smartphone in bed
The last point is an evil of our time: more and more people are using their smartphones or tablets in bed before they sleep or at night when they wake up. This is a monumental mistake. The social networking apps you'll be using will excite your brain, not to mention the blue light that will send your brain and body conflicting information about your real intentions.
Leave the virtual world and join the more beneficial world of dreams.
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