Jonas Space – Health Blog

Here are some tips to ensure that you have a restful sleep.

Set a bed time. If you go to sleep at the same time every night, your body will get used to the pattern and it will adjust more quickly giving you more quality sleep time. Research shows that we get our deepest, best sleep from 10 pm until 6 am so if you want to feel rejuvenated the next day; those are the times to shoot for.

Go black. Our bodies are designed to sleep in the dark. By making your room as dark as possible you’re triggering the brain that it’s time to sleep. Get some blackout curtains and get a good sleep.

Avoid the media. Watching TV or listening to the radio – particularly anything that makes you really think, like the news – just gets your brain churning. Better to turn off the TV early and just relax for a while before you hit the hay. Definitely don’t leave the TV or radio on while you’re trying to sleep.

Inspire your mind. Spend about 30 minutes before bed reading something that inspires you. This will get good vibes flowing through your brain and will help push out the stressful thoughts that might otherwise keep you awake.

Make a list. Many times what keeps us up at night is our brain wrestling with planning for the next day. If you write down all your tasks before you go to bed you’re letting your brain know that you haven’t forgotten and it can relax a bit. So keep a pen and paper by your bedside. It’s also great for writing down those great ideas you get in the middle of the night.

Make your house is quiet. Noise is distracting to the brain and will keep it active which makes it harder to sleep well. Make sure that all electrical devices are off, unplugged or on silent before you hit the sack and remind anyone else in the house that its sleep time so silence is appreciated.

Skip the late night snack. Not only can going to sleep on a full stomach give you bad dreams and potentially a stomach ache, it can also really disrupt your sleep patterns. If your brain is focused on digesting rather than relaxing and repairing your body then it’s your sleep that will suffer. So, don’t eat for at least 3 hours prior to bed time. Also, lay off the juice before bed. Nothing will keep you awake like a full bladder!

Lay off the pills. Sleeping pills may knock you out, but they don’t give you the kind of sleep you need in order to let your body do its job. The point of sleep is to give the body time to relax and rejuvenate itself. If you’ve drugged it to the point of stupor it never gets a chance to do that.

Freshen things up. Opening a window allows cleaner, more oxygenated air into the room which helps your brain to function better. So, rather than breathing that old stale air let some fresh in.

Work up a sweat. Getting 60 minutes of exercise a day will not only help you sleep better, it’ll help you become healthier. You don’t even have to do it all at once. Break it up into manageable pieces and you’ll be surprised how quickly you can reach that number.