There is nothing more exhausting than not being able to sleep very well. Tossing and turning all night or just hopelessly staring at the ceiling can leave you grumpy, fatigued, and with bags under your eyes. Getting a good night’s rest is vital to being able to function the next day. Skimping on sleep can lead to sleep deprivation and increase your sleep debt.
3 Things Preventing You From Sleeping Better
It’s important to tackle any challenges that might be preventing you from getting better sleep.
Blue Light
Did you know that electronics, such as your phone and TV, emit blue light? There have been a lot of studies on how blue light affects the body, and the findings have not been the most positive. Some studies believe that blue light could actually be speeding up the process of how quickly our eyes go bad.
Other studies have confirmed that blue light negatively impacts people’s ability to sleep by delaying the release of melatonin. Every night your body naturally produces melatonin, a hormone that helps you sleep, to make you feel sleepy and eventually fall asleep. Blue light makes it so your body can’t slowly make you drowsy when it’s time for bed.
Many people are on their phones or watching TV right up to when they want to fall asleep. This doesn’t work. Your phone or TV could be some of the biggest factors prohibiting you from being able to get the perfect night of sleep. Try to stop using your phone or TV an hour or so before you want to go to bed. If you can’t help but get on Facebook right before you go to bed, set your phone to turn off blue light at night. This way you can still use your phone but you’ll avoid the nasty blue light that makes it hard to fall asleep.
Temperature
Do you wake up at night freezing cold? Or struggle to fall asleep because you are sweating buckets? Temperature can affect the quality of sleep you get at night. Our bodies constantly work to regulate our temperatures by making us sweat to help us cool down or shivering to help warm us up. At night when we are trying to sleep, our bodies continue to regulate our temperature, but if our bodies have to work hard to continually adjust to the temperature, it is significantly harder to get a good night’s rest.
Everyone has a different temperature preference for their bedroom, but on average, the best temperature to sleep in is somewhere in the 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit range. It’s a good idea to set your thermostat to get cooler at night. You can also purchase cooling or heating sheets or blankets if you know you are typically hot or cold at night. Not worrying about the temperature every night will help you get a much calmer night’s sleep.
Mind
Some nights I’ll lie in bed and my mind won’t seem to quiet down. My mind will think of the most random things and I’ll want to yell, “Shut up already.” Many people complain of their mind preventing them from being able to sleep at night.
If you struggle with getting your brain to quiet down before bed, try setting a sleep schedule for yourself. We can train our brains to follow a routine. By going to bed at the same time every night, we start to train our brain that at 11 pm it’s time to quiet down and go to sleep. You could also try meditating before going to bed. Meditating is a great way to calm and focus the mind and get yourself relaxed before going to sleep.
If you want your eyes to look bright and rested, create a bedtime routine without blue light or distracting thoughts. Be sure to check the thermostat before lying down too, so you can drift off to sleep feeling absolutely comfortable.
