The Do's and Don'ts of Getting Better Sleep

The world is changing rapidly with technological advancements and the advent of the pandemic has accelerated this process, adversely affecting the schedules and lifestyles of people.  Unsurprisingly, all these changes in our day to day activities have proven to be harmful to our sleep pattern as well. A healthy sleep schedule is a necessity for the efficient functioning of every human being.

How much do you sleep? At what time do you sleep? How much caffeine did you have during the day? Did you have an intense workout right before heading to bed? All these questions matter if you plan on finding the answer on getting better sleep. Simply having a comfortable bedroom and not taking a nap throughout the day are not enough measures to ensure a good sleep.

Listed below are the answers to these questions, entailing the habits you should stick to and the activities that you should entirely stay away from to enjoy a quality sleep.

1. Do's of Sleeping

a. Best Sleeping Positions

Sleeping on your right side or on your back are considered to be the best options. People with a weak spine should sleep on their back for recovery. Those with heart problems must sleep on their right side to keep the stress minimum. Sleeping in these positions lowers your overall muscle tension and stress levels, helping you achieve better sleep and an overall better posture as well.

b. Regular Schedule

In today's competitive world, most working people find it hard to manage their sleeping schedule due to work overload on most of their working days. Working overtime on the weekdays and hoping to save the weekend to get some rest can have drastic effects on the sleep pattern. Most health researchers and doctors suggest that we should maintain the same time for going to bed and waking up regardless of it being a workday or a weekend, and this schedule must be followed with consistency for healthy sleep.

c. Pre-Sleep Rituals to Help you Relax

Some people read a book to calm their mind, while others listen to tranquil music to help them sleep. Having these pre-sleep rituals can help your mind relax and reduce the time it takes you to sleep once you're on the bed. White noise is a research-proven way to get some sleep, it consists of a series of sounds put up in the background which help you focus your mind solely on sleep and stop it from thinking too much.

2. Don'ts of Sleeping

a. Worst sleeping positions

Most of the youngsters sleep on their stomach which causes strain on neck and back muscles, leading to poor quality of sleep. Sleeping on your left side may also pose a stress on your heart.

b. Avoid Cardio Before Bed

Cardio or an intense workout can cause your brain to stimulate instead of relaxing it. It will also cause your body temperature to rise above average and you may have to wait till your body is cool enough to allow it to come into a position to sleep. The most preferred time for working out is at least 3 hours before sleeping, so you can head to bed with a calm mind and a relaxed body.

c. Don't think about your problems on bed

Some days can be frustrating and you may get anxious by pondering about stressful events on your bed. Your mind would just not stop thinking unless you feed it something. You should try to keep these problems away from your bed room as it can radically affect your sleep. You can also blow off some steam by playing some blackjack online, just remember to avoid playing too late as you’ll lose quality sleep time.

d. Abstain from Drinking or Smoking just Before Bed

The intake of nicotine or alcohol just before going to bed can be harmful to your sleep schedule. These intoxicants can keep you up for another hour and the dehydration due to these intoxicants may cause you to wake up earlier than usual.

e. Do Not have Caffeine after Lunch

Similar to nicotine, caffeine can also cause you to have shallow sleep. Caffeine can over stimulate your sympathetic system causing you to have symptoms that randomly wake you up at night, disrupting your sleep. You should have green tea or warm milk instead, to help you sleep just before you lie down on your bed and get ready for sleep.