Many people suffer from sleeping disorders from mild insomnia to full-flown apnea. Unfortunately, your lifestyle might contribute to your sleep deprivation and all the baggage that comes with it. Lack of sleep can reduce your productivity, elevate blood pressure levels, make you irritable and encourage the accumulation of abdominal fat.
So how do you boost your sleep for improved health? Use these 7 hacks to increase your sleep for better health and productivity.
Melatonin Supplement
If you have trouble hitting the snooze, your melatonin levels might be lower than normal. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates the sleep cycle. The body reduces melatonin during light hours to keep you awake and produces more of the substance at night to help you relax and sleep.
For people who can’t produce enough melatonin to lull them to sleep, the supplement form of the hormone may help improve your sleep-wake cycles so you can have sound, relaxing night rests.
Blue Light Blocking Glasses
Do you know that the blue light from your smartphone screen lowers the production of melatonin? Melatonin helps your body relax and wind down for the night. When your body cannot produce the hormone in the right amount, sleep becomes difficult, leading to insomnia, fatigue, and many other unpleasant symptoms.
Improve your sleep with blue light blocking glasses that prevent your mobile device screen rays from penetrating your body. The night mode feature on your smartphones and tablets can also boost your sleeping hours.
No Light or Electronics after 7 pm
The point above leads us to the use of electronics and artificial light at night. To improve your sleep pattern, reduce or eliminate the use of electronics such as smartphones, laptops, and artificial illumination after 7 pm.
This will improve melatonin production and help your body relax and prepare for bed. However this may be difficult for most people as our lives now revolve around phones, but you still have to try.
Meditation before Bed
Meditating before going to bed can improve your chances of getting a comforting night sleep. The simple act of meditation not only helps you relax, but it makes you at peace with yourself and your surroundings. It’s easier to sleep when you have nothing weighing you down.
No Food after 6 p.m.
Late night food is a bad habit, especially when you had dinner earlier. Digestion is a metabolic activity and it can keep you awake if you ate close to bedtime. To prevent food-induced insomnia, try to stay off food after 6 p.m. But it’s okay to eat if you came late from work and feel famished.
Consistent Schedule
Do you stay in bed until 10 a.m. on weekends? This is bad for your sleep pattern as the body loves a consistent schedule. You can disrupt your circadian rhythm if you don’t have a definitive bed time. To avoid sleep problems, make sure you go to bed at the same time every day.
Exercise
Exercise not only helps you keep fit and blast off stubborn fat, but it can also improve your sleep. When you work out, your body produces feel-good hormones that release stress and help you relax, conditions which improve your sleeping pattern. However, you must be careful not to exercise close to bedtime as an active body may have a hard time shutting down.
What other hacks help you relax and re-energize your body? Let us know in the comment section.
