During these times, falling asleep seems to be, for many, a titanic and difficult task to carry out. Now, Harvard Medical School (USA) has revealed a series of tips to how to sleep better every night (insomnia included), essential for our body to be healthy and energetic to face any task the next day.
1. Be active: Being physically active every day with activities within reach such as walking, running or swimming, provide us with three key benefits in order to obtain a restful sleep: when one is tired from exercise, one sleeps faster, gets a higher percentage of deep sleep and wakes up less frequently during the night.
2. The bed is only for sleeping and having sexual relations: Other activities such as lying down on the same to watch television, read social networks, check the mail or play on the mobile, tablet or laptop does not give us any positive factor if we want to sleep better at the end of the day.
3. Timetables and routine: To get a good night’s sleep we need to organize our sleep and do it responsibly. You have to go to sleep at the same time each day and wake up at the same time, as far as possible. Training our body to sleep will also make us fall asleep faster and wake up fresher.
4. Goodbye to tobacco: Smoking is a great enemy of rest, apart from our general health. Nicotine causes an effect in our organism that makes it difficult for us to fall asleep easily.
5. A good rest area: The place where you sleep should be a temple of tranquility and silence. The mobile phone, laptop or television should be outside the rest area. Ideally, it should be dark, relatively cool and as quiet as possible. The room should be tidy and with few objects around to facilitate that atmosphere of tranquility that requires a restful sleep.
6. Fewer drinks with caffeine: Coffee, tea or soft drinks may be desired throughout the day but caffeine will make it more difficult to sleep at night and also increase the need to wake up to pee during the night.
7. Sleeping pills are also not good allies: Try to avoid sleeping pills and consult a specialist for the most effective way to take them for the shortest possible period of time.
8. Drinking less alcohol: Alcohol depresses the nervous system, which helps you fall asleep. However, this effect disappears within a few hours, which causes us to wake up several times throughout the night, preventing a good night’s sleep. In addition to this, alcohol magnifies snoring and other respiratory problems related to sleep.
9. Yes, but short naps: Taking a nap is beneficial to continue with energy for the rest of the day, but not if they are long. A maximum of 20 minutes will feel great. Moreover, it will only prevent us from falling asleep at night.
10. If you can’t fall asleep, get up: Staying in bed 20 minutes after going to sleep is an indicator that we’re not relaxed and therefore, it’s going to be hard to fall asleep. Get up, read a little, and then go back to bed. Turning it around and around for hours will not speed up the process.
Sleeping makes you feel better, but its importance – as we’ve seen – goes beyond just increasing your mood or banishing unwanted circles or marks under your eyes. Proper sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle and can benefit your heart, weight, mind and much more.
