New Year Strategies For A Better Life: Start with a Good Sleep.
~ The start of this year is a perfect time to make positive changes in your life. ~
You can use it as a chance to improve your relationships with family and friends, further your education or start a new hobby or job. Focus on improving aspects of your life that are attainable and within your control, such as your sleep habits. You can do this by setting realistic goals for yourself, such as cutting back on late-night eating or exercise regimes.
One of the biggest challenges we face is obtaining quality sleep. Many of us struggle to fall asleep easily and wake up multiple times every night. We also spend a large portion of our nights awake, tossing and turning. Overall, getting a good night’s sleep can depend on many factors. However, there are ways to improve our sleep habits that make this easier.
Getting enough sleep is essential for overall health and wellbeing. It helps regulate our bodies’ internal clocks and body temperatures, keeps us alert and reduces stress and fatigue. It also helps with weight management and daily productivity. Plus, not getting enough sleep puts our health at risk; studies have shown that people who don’t get enough sleep are three times more likely to suffer from diabetes, heart disorders and high blood pressure. Not getting enough sleep also makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, leading to a cycle of poorer quality sleep.
Our metabolism processes calories throughout the day and determines how much weight we gain or lose. Additionally, our sleep patterns are affected by the amount of carbohydrates we eat at night; carbs are a major source of energy for our bodies during wakefulness. Your digestive system continues to work even when you’re asleep. However, it significantly slows down and if you’ve eaten a large meal shortly before going to bed, you’re not giving the digestive system adequate time to rest. As a result, you may wake up with heartburn, indigestion, acid reflux, or other unpleasant, sleep-disrupting symptoms.
Getting a good night’s sleep is possible but requires a decision to be consistent and disciplined – you need to make the right decisions for your health and wellbeing. Throughout 2023, make sure you’re adhering to healthy sleeping behaviours which will also lower blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, control your appetite, burn fat, and improve longevity:
Start the day with bright light to inhibit melatonin production and wake you up properly.
At night, eat your last meal as early as possible to ensure that digestion is completed before bedtime. Digestion generally takes up to two hours for most common food groups, but whole milk hard cheese can keep your digestive process going for up to 5 hours. That’s why grandma always warned you not to eat cheese at bedtime. Beef, lamb, and pork are also notoriously slow to digest. So, if you must eat close to bedtime, keep it light with veggie broth or a fruit smoothie.
Lower the temperature of the room and cool your body – I’m sure you’ve noticed how hard it is to fall asleep when you’re too hot.
Silence and darkness tell your brain that it’s time to sleep. Avoid bright light and blue light from your devices. Even the standby lights on your chargers can be a problem – turn them off or cover the lights. Turn off all screens around two hours before bedtime.
Remember the old expression: “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”. We can’t promise wealth, but the rest certainly applies. We get our best sleep between 10 pm and 2 am.
Many people wake up between 2 and 3 am. This is a natural process and nothing to worry about. In past ages, people used this midnight waking time to read, have a snack, or even socialise. The trick is to not stay up too long but get back into bed within an hour or two for a good second sleep.
These steps will help you get the rest you need while also improving your physical wellbeing. Going to sleep on the best mattress you can afford will certainly give you a head start on your journey to better sleep. Make sure you’re settling down on a Henwood bed, available from reputable bed stores countrywide.
