Written By Finnegan Pierson / Reviewed By Ray Spotts
Getting good sleep can be essential to supporting your overall health. However, many struggle to get quality sleep throughout the night. What many may not know is that choices that you make throughout the day can have a big impact on how well you're able to sleep at night.
If you're looking for ways to improve your health and start getting better quality sleep when you go to bed at night, here are some things to think about.
Watch Your Diet to get better sleep
One big culprit behind sleep disruption is a poor diet. When your diet is filled with things like refined carbs and sugars, it can make it hard to fall asleep deeply, especially when you eat these foods shortly before going to bed.
Part of the reason that these foods are so detrimental when it comes to getting good sleep is that they disrupt the balance of your blood sugar. Sugary foods and foods with lots of carbs can cause spikes and crashes in your blood sugar, which can affect your mood, energy and hormone levels. When your hormone levels are disrupted, it isn't just certain ones, but usually all of them, including the ones that help you sleep at night.
One way to avoid having sleep issues due to your diet is to limit your intake of junk foods, and increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that you eat. Not only that, but paying attention to when you eat can be beneficial as well, as eating too close to your bedtime can keep you awake, due to all the work that your body has to do to digest food.
Additionally, if you struggle to get all the nutrients you need in a day, trying supplements and asking things like What is Thrive can be a great way to help get the nutrition you need to support good sleep.
Avoid Certain Substances to get better sleep
Not only is what you eat important to pay attention to, but what you drink is important to watch as well. This is because one of the biggest sleep disruptors out there is caffeine. While a cup of coffee can be a great way to get going in the morning because it stimulates your nervous system, it can also keep you up late at night as well.
What many don't realize is that caffeine can stay active in your system for several hours after it has been ingested, and can take a long time for your body to process.
While drinking a cup or two in the morning may not have a huge impact on your sleep at night, drinking large amounts of caffeine can have a negative impact, as can drinking it later on in the day. To avoid having sleep issues due to caffeine, limiting your intake can be beneficial, as can making sure that you only drink it during the earlier hours of the day.
Another drink that can be detrimental to your sleep quality is alcohol. While some may actually drink it as a way to relax or to help fall asleep, the reality is that alcohol is highly disruptive to sleep cycles.
This means that while you may be able to fall asleep initially, it can cause you to wake up more frequently later on. An occasional drink may not be an issue, but if you have a habit of drinking before going to bed, it could be what keeps you up at night.
Follow Your Internal Clock to get better sleep
Something else that can have a big impact on your sleep quality is how well you follow your internal clock, or your circadian rhythms. Your body has natural rhythms that it likes to follow, and the more that you can stay in tune with them, the better that you will sleep. These rhythms have an impact not just on when you feel tired or wide awake, but also on things like your hormones and body temperature as well.
One easy way to help follow your internal clock is simply to stick to a regular schedule. The more that you do things like eat and go to bed at regular times, the more that you will be able to get in tune with your natural clock and keep important sleep hormones balanced.
Get Enough Exercise to get better sleep
Getting enough activity into your day can play a big role in how well you sleep at night. Part of the reason for this is that working out on a regular basis can be great for balancing out your hormones, which includes the hormones that tell your body when to wake up and when to go to sleep.
Not only that, but working out can be great for reducing stress, as well as things like anxiety and depression, all of which can contribute to disrupted sleep and insomnia. While some may not enjoy working out, the good news is that it doesn't matter what kind of exercise you do, as long as you get your body moving and you expend some energy. Just make sure you don’t exercise right before bed or it can be difficult to wind down.
Create a Great Sleeping Environment for better sleep
Your sleeping environment can have a lot to do with how well you're able to sleep at night. This is because a room that is too bright or too noisy or too hot can make it difficult for you to fall into the deep sleep cycles you need to feel your best.
Beyond the room itself, distractions like a TV can make it harder for you to sleep well, too. By doing things like keeping your bedroom cool, using room darkening curtains or blinds, and trying out earplugs if you live in a noisy area you can help ensure that you have the best environment to get deep sleep in.
Start a Nighttime Ritual to get better sleep
Something else that can be helpful when it comes to getting good sleep at night is making sure that you have a relaxing night time ritual. Doing things that stress you out or make you more alert can make it difficult to get in the right frame of mind for bed, and can in fact keep you up even if you feel tired.
To help yourself drift off more easily, spending the hour before you go to bed doing things like reading a book, journaling, or practicing meditation can be good options.
Bottom Line to get better sleep
Good sleep is an important part of your overall health, and can have a huge impact on how you feel day to day. That being said, many still struggle to get decent sleep. The good news is, though, that by tweaking some of your habits during the day, you can get better rest at night.
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Written By:
Finnegan Pierson loves business and has a passion for Health and technology. Even more interesting is the combination of the two. As a freelance writer, Finn hopes to influence others so they can have positive life experiences.
Reviewed By:
Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.