When it comes to your health, getting enough sleep is one of the most important things you can do. Getting enough sleep helps your body recharge, so you feel refreshed and ready to go each morning. If you’re having trouble getting eight hours of sleep every night, try some of these tips to improve your sleep quality.
1. Invest in Your Bed
Your bed plays a big role in how well you sleep, from the firmness of your mattress to the quality of your sheets, pillows, and bedspread. If you want to improve your sleep quality, try upgrading your mattress or investing in a comfortable bedding set. You don’t have to spend a fortune on the most expensive bedding or mattress; if you have an old bed, any upgrade will make a big difference.
2. Stay on a Schedule
It might sound crazy, but your body does a pretty good job of learning your sleep schedule and adapting to it. One way to improve your sleep quality is to try to stick to a schedule, so you’re not throwing your body off. While staying up late on weekends can be tempting, disrupting your sleep schedule can make it hard to fall asleep on time for work when the weekend is over.
3. Prevent Sleep Problems
You might not know it, but you could have a problem that’s making it difficult for you to sleep at night. Whether you grind your teeth or snore all night long, correcting these problems can be essential to getting a good night’s rest. Luckily, you can pick up a night guard for sleeping for a reasonable price, especially when you consider the damage these guards prevent.
4. Don’t Eat Late
Your diet can also have quite an effect on your ability to sleep. In particular, eating too late can make it difficult to sleep soundly because your body is still trying to digest the food you ate. If you can help it, try to avoid eating a couple of hours before bed. If you have to eat, choose a light and healthy snack that’s easy to digest so you don’t feel bloated when you lie down.
5. Don’t Look at Screens
For decades, people have enjoyed falling asleep to episodes of their favorite TV shows. The truth is, looking at your phone, TV, and computer screen before going to bed can make it harder to sleep. Blue light from your smartphone is an especially big problem, which is why using the blue light settings on your phone is a smart idea.
6. Wake Up Early
You sleep better at night if you’re tired when you lie down. The thing is, you’re not going to be tired if you slept in and spent the day being lazy. When you wake up early, you increase the odds that you’ll feel tired by the end of the day, making it faster to fall asleep at night. Plus, waking up early makes it easier to stick to a sleep schedule.
7. Monitor the Temperature
If you get too hot at night, try putting a digital thermostat in your room and keeping the temperature around 65 degrees. Most people have trouble sleeping when it’s too hot or too cold, so adding some form of cooling to your room is an effective way to get better sleep. Some high-quality cooling mattresses are even designed specifically for hot sleepers.
Despite sleep being one of the biggest contributors to a healthy lifestyle, people everywhere struggle to get enough sleep. From blue light to snoring and even hot rooms, there are a lot of things that can make it hard to sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping, give some of these tips a try.