The 11 Healthiest Sleep Habits

It is now more than known that good sleep is necessary to maintain good health. However, throughout the day you have to face a multitude of elements that reduce the quality of sleep: pain, worries, lack of time and a long etcetera. This is why it is so important to try to maintain good sleep habits.

Sleeping is more than just spending the night in bed. The body responds to the cycles of light and dark, regulating and adapting to a natural routine, and not respecting it can cause health problems: from cognitive performance to body weight regulation, through skin and heart problems. However, it is easier to say “you have to sleep well” than to get it.

When the current pace of life threatens the well-being of health, it is necessary to employ strategies to mitigate its long-term effects. If you want to improve your sleep habits, here are tips that will be very useful.

1. Take age into account

Sleep needs vary throughout life. Infants less than one year old need about 12 hours of sleep, while an adult moves in an average of 7.5 hours. The same guidelines should not apply to children as to older ones, especially since their cognitive development and immune system can be affected as they grow up.

2. Establish a routine

The routines of sleep – and of daily life in general – are beneficial for the homeostasis of the body. A structured day-to-day allows the body to better regulate its cycles, including the circadian, so that sleep will eventually regulate itself as well.

3. Watch your diet

Certain foods can disturb your night’s sleep. Avoid large dinners and suppress stimulants for at least 4 hours before going to sleep, and do not go to bed hungry either. Think that after dinner you go to sleep, a period in which your body’s metabolism drops.

4. One of the best sleep habits is to exercise.

Although it seems contradictory, the fatigue of a hectic day does not promote a restful sleep. Controlled exercise, however, generates a fatigue that does allow rest and relaxes the mind. Try to get light exercise at least every other day.

5. Invest in a good rest

A mattress that allows a healthy position of the spine and a soft pillow directly influence the quality of sleep and the prevention of muscle disorders. As much as you can, try to get a good quality bed and use it only for sleeping.

6. Improve the atmosphere of your resting place

Keeping the room at a cool temperature -17-18ºC- and free from loud noises also helps you fall asleep. Exposure to blue light at night reduces melatonin production, so it is recommended not to use electronic devices before sleeping. Reading a book is much better to fall asleep than looking at your mobile.

7. Try to cut down on naps

Tiredness from an intense work day, combined with getting up too early, can invite you to take long naps. However, this can alter your night’s sleep later: it is better to hold on and go to bed earlier or take a nap for no more than 30 minutes. The body will create a routine on its own and will eventually adapt.

8. Healthy sleep habits aren’t just for the body

Relaxing your mind before bed can be difficult, but it can be trained. Modern urban life is not conducive to tranquility at all, and ongoing stress keeps the body on constant alert, preventing rest even when the day is done.

9. Increase your exposure to natural light

Circadian rhythms are regulated through exposure to natural light. If you help your body to synchronize with the passage of the day, you will be more awake during the day and also rest more deeply, so try to spend as many hours as you can in the sun or bright lights.

10. Learn to know when you are sleepy

This title may seem a bit confusing, but some people have a hard time processing when they are sleepy – in young children it often happens, for example. Some signs that the body is getting ready for sleep are chills, yawning, or difficulty maintaining attention.

11. Go to a specialist

If good sleep habits do not get you to rest well, it is time for you to go to the consultation of a specialist who can study your case individually.

You think that some conditions, such as insomnia or sleep apnea, worsen overall health if left untreated. They make you perform worse, your mood suffers, you adopt passive rather than proactive attitudes, you are able to hold your attention for less time or you feel more tired.

There are common needs, but also particular ones, when it comes to resting. It is likely that what works for most of you will also work for you, but so is the need to take some more action when our rest is not restorative, when, day after day, we wake up tired.

On the other hand, difficulties in feeling rested can lead to frustration. You’ve done everything you can and can’t find the key; then, it is time for you to put yourself in the hands of a specialist.