There are a number of ways to improve your sleep quality naturally. These natural sleeping aids can help you sleep better without the need of taking sleeping pills or supplements like melatonin or valerian root.
Optimize your circadian rhythm. You will get the most out of your time sleeping if your sleep is synchronized with your body’s sleep-wake cycle. There are a few things that you can do to establish this. For example, you can prime your body for sleep by going to sleep and waking up around the same time every day. When you lose sleep during the week, it is tempting to catch up by sleeping in on the weekends. However, it is better to stick to your normal circadian rhythm and make up for your lost time with short naps during the day.
Exercise regularly. Another way to stimulate sleep quality is to exercise daily. By exercising, you stimulate your body to go into a deeper state of sleep. It is advisable to finish your workouts a few hours before you go to sleep. Because exercising has a number of effects on your body such as a change in hormone levels, body temperature, and metabolism, you don’t want these effects to interfere with your circadian rhythm.
Optimize your diet. The things you eat and drink during the day can influence your quality of sleep. Substances like caffeine and nicotine can have a severe negative effect on how you sleep at night. It is advised to limit your intake of caffeine after the morning and to avoid smoking cigarettes late at night. Another thing to watch out for is heavy meals in the evening. It is best to have your dinner several hours before bedtime and to eat a light snack before you go to sleep.
Proper stress management. During the day, most of us are constantly over-stimulating our brain by seeking new impulses and by working on multiple tasks at a time. This makes it hard to wind down during the night and to get out of ‘work-mode’. Add some stress or anxiety to that, and the above could have a serious negative impact on your quality of sleep. When you experience this, a number of relaxation techniques can help calm your mind and help you get to sleep.
Optimize your bedroom. The environment in which you sleep has a significant effect on the quality of your sleep. For example, it is important to keep your bedroom dark, cool and quiet. To help your mind associate your bedroom with sleep, it is advisable to limit the number of activities that you undertake in your bedroom. Therefore, remove distractions like a TV or a computer. When you are lying in your bed and you can’t sleep, go to another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired.
Exposure to light. Exposure to light has a profound effect on the production of melatonin, a hormone that controls your circadian rhythm. To improve your quality of sleep you should try to regulate the periods in which you expose your body to light. It is best to get as much exposure to bright light as possible during the day. In the evening it’s the other way around. Limit your exposure to bright light during evening hours and be careful with devices that produce light such as smartphones and tablets.
