We all know how vital sleep is for our health. Just one night of inadequate sleep, and you’re groggy, irritated and operating at far less than 100%.
It is essential to understand that “catching up on sleep” is a concept that does not work. Research has shown that it can take up to 4 days to recover from one hour of lost sleep.
This indicates that we have to sleep well and, more importantly, stay consistent throughout the week.
Sleeping 12 hours on the weekends and 6 hours on weekdays isn’t going to make the cut, and you may start experiencing symptoms of sleep deprivation if this becomes an ongoing habit.
Instead, you must employ good sleeping habits to get to bed on time, stay in bed, and wake up at a reasonable hour.
Let’s go through some key habits to get your sleep in optimal condition.
1. Don’t Watch, Read
Blue light is present in phones, televisions and laptops. This type of lighting stimulates our brain to be more alert, making it harder to go to sleep.
In scientific terms, blue light prevents the release of melatonin which is the hormone that induces sleep. Blue light during the day is great. It wakes you up and gets your circadian rhythm in check. However, blue light during the night is another story.
Doctors recommend avoiding this type of light before bed to encourage the release of melatonin. This gets you drowsier and hence makes it easier to get to sleep.
The solution? Switch off your electronic devices before bed, and do an alternative activity instead. Read a book, talk to a friend - anything that doesn’t involve a screen emitting light is a winner.
2. Don’t Oversleep
You might have shuddered when you read that one. But if you’re serious about improving your sleep - this is a necessary habit to implement.
Too many of us are guilty of sleeping and waking up far too late on the weekend.
When we completely switch up our sleeping patterns, we confuse our body clock. This means our brains won’t get used to waking up and sleeping at certain times. By resting and waking up at, or around the same time every day, we keep our body clock in check and get our bodies in prime condition to sleep.
This means that when it is bedtime, your body will automatically feel drowsy. Some who follow this habit report waking up at identical times without needing an alarm! That’s how efficient our body is when we treat it with respect.
3. Avoid Napping
Nowadays with working from home being increasingly common, we have more time to nap during the day.
Short naps of 30 minutes or less are not particularly harmful. When you start taking long naps of 1 hour or more, your sleep at night starts being negatively impacted.
This happens due to a concept known as “sleep debt”. During the day, we build up sleep debt - i.e. we gradually get tired. This debt is then paid off at night when we sleep.
Naps create a separate issue of paying off this sleep debt before nighttime. When you should have 8 hours of sleep debt at night - this might be reduced to 5 hours as you’ve taken a long afternoon nap.
You will therefore struggle to sleep properly at night and wake up sleep-deprived in the morning.
The best possible outcome is to quit naps altogether. If you feel you need one, keep it at 30 minutes or less.
4. Your Bedroom Is For Sleeping
For many of us, our bedrooms have become a place where we spend all day and all night. This is especially relevant in today’s day and age, where working from home has become increasingly commonplace.
However, this can be an unhealthy habit to have.
By ensuring your bedroom is used exclusively for sleeping, you help create an association within your brain.
Once you enter your bedroom come nighttime, your brain will automatically associate the area with getting some rest; hence, you are likely to feel more tired.
If you can, take your work outside the bedroom and work in a different area of your home. Of course, this might not be realistic for many of us - so take an alternative measure by working at a nearby coffee shop or library.
We can employ many alternatives instead of being in our bedrooms all day, and we must take advantage of these where possible.
Stay out of your bedroom during the day, and watch your sleep quality improve.
Final Thoughts
Every human sleeps, and for every human, sleep is a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle. It has enormous benefits for both your mental and physical health.
Consider the tips mentioned above to get one step ahead of your day and wake up refreshed every morning. It’s all worth it in the end!
