18 August 2022
By Roger Kennedy
roger@TheCork.ie
Did you know that a good night’s sleep is just as essential as a healthy diet and regular exercise? Poor sleep can significantly impact the quality of your life. Before knowing the tricks to get a good night’s sleep, understand why you need to sleep better.
| Benefits of good sleep | Impact of bad sleep |
| Stay at a healthy weight | Causes weight gain |
| Don’t get sick too often | Lack of sleep can make you fall sick more often |
| Lowered risk of health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes | Increased risk of diseases in both children and adults |
| Improves mood and reduces stress | Negative effects on hormones, mood and increased stress levels |
| Ability to think more clearly and take better decisions | Lack of alertness and ability to think clearly |
If you wish to lose weight, reduce the risks of contracting severe health conditions & diseases and optimize your overall health, you need to take steps to sleep better. Here are some proven techniques to help you get a relaxing, good night’s sleep.
- Take a melatonin supplement
Melatonin is an important sleep hormone that tells your brain when it is time to head to bed. Melatonin supplements are typically used to treat insomnia and are one of the most effective ways to fall asleep. While melatonin is naturally produced in the body, stress and other factors can desynchronize one’s normal sleep cycle and reduce melatonin levels. You can take supplements or opt for melatonin vapes. If you are a severe vaper, you can opt for the volcano vaporizer that will enhance your experience of vaping melatonin and help you get a good night’s sleep.
- Decrease blue light exposure in the evening
You must limit blue light exposure in the evening. It can impact your circadian rhythm and trick your brain into thinking it isn’t time to relax and go to bed. Also, it will result in reducing melatonin levels.
Electronic devices like computers and smartphones typically emit blue light. Some practical ways to limit blue light exposure are wearing glasses that block the blue light, avoiding using your phone before bed, and stopping watching TV two hours before bedtime.
- During the day, enhance bright light exposure
Did you know your body has a time-keeping clock? It is known as your circadian rhythm. It impacts your body, brain and hormones. It helps you stay awake and tells your body when you must relax. Bright light or natural sunlight during the day will keep your circadian rhythm healthy and improve your nighttime sleep duration and quality.
Increasing daytime bright light exposure will augment your sleep quality if you have insomnia. It will also reduce the time you take to fall asleep. So, try to get daily sunlight exposure, or if that’s not possible, invest in artificial bright light devices.
- Avoid consuming caffeine late in the day
Caffeine offers numerous benefits, and that’s why most people consume it. A single dose can augment energy, focus and sports performance. But unfortunately, there are side effects to caffeine consumption if you consume it late in the day. It can stimulate your nervous system and prevent your body from relaxing at night. Therefore, you must avoid consuming caffeine six hours before bed to get a good night’s sleep.
Caffeine remains in your blood for six to eight hours. So, you need to carefully time your caffeine consumption so that it does not interfere with your sleep.
- Optimise your bedroom environment for improved sleep
The bedroom setup is key to falling asleep and enjoying a relaxed sleep. When optimizing the bedroom environment, you must consider external lights, noise, temperature and furniture arrangement. Too much external noise can significantly impact your sleep quality, and lack of sleep can cause long-term health issues. You must ensure your bedroom is a quiet and relaxing place where you can enjoy a good night’s sleep.
- Avoid eating late in the evening
Eating late at night might affect your sleep quality and impact the natural release of melatonin and HGH. The quality of your late-night snack may also impact your quality of sleep. So, you must have your last meal of the day at least four hours before bed. This will help your body digest the food to sleep better.
Besides these, you can try meditating and thinking happy thoughts, so your sleep is not disrupted.
Try these techniques and see if it improves your sleep quality. As you start to sleep better, you will enhance your overall quality of life. All the best!
