Quick Tips To Quality Sleep

Sleep is quite possibly the hardest thing for people to get under control. If you look at how crazy the world is lately, and how busy everyone seems to be, it almost makes sense. What most of us don’t realize is how not getting quality sleep is hurting us in the long run.

Not getting quality sleep, or sleeping enough has been linked to depression, mood swings, lack of energy, weight gain and stress. With those alone we should all strive to get as much sleep as we possibly can. It gets worse though, especially if you’re in the process of a fitness routine and trying to make a change to your health. This is because most of the muscle growth that your body goes through happens during your sleep cycle.

Sleeping also helps you to maintain or even boost your weight loss. How you ask? When you’re sleeping you’ve essentially been fasting, think about how much a 6-8 hour fast could impact that diet plan you have been working on for so long. Even more than that though, it’s been proven that being sleep deprived makes your body seek out sweets and rewarding foods. Basically, if you’re overtired your body is more likely to make you crave those sweets that you’re trying to stay away from.

Quick Tips

1. Be Consistent: Pick a time that you can consistently go to sleep at. It takes 21 days to build a habit, if you stick to this time your body will start to prepare to go to sleep as this time approaches making it easier to fall asleep once you lay in bed.

2. Avoid Napping: Although napping is great (I’m the nap Queen... But I’m trying to change!), taking a nap during the day will mess with your natural sleep cycle. It will also make you less tired by the time bedtime rolls around. Which now makes it harder to go to sleep.

3. Temperature Control: So, I dislike this one (because I’m always cold). But IT WORKS! There has been a decent amount of study on this subject, and it turns out that the best temperature to sleep in is between 65-68 degrees! Brrrrrr

4. Ease Your Mind: Going to bed with a clogged and racing mind has been proven time and time again to reduce the quality of your sleep. So before you go to sleep, take a notepad and pen and write down your thoughts for the day. This is why I love journaling before bed.

5. Avoid Technology: At least 30-45 minutes before bedtime disconnect yourself from technology, the bluelight from screens negatively impacts your sleep quality. In addition to that, avoiding technology allows you to disconnect yourself from the stressors of news and social media.

Hopefully you take these tips and start to implement them in to your life. Quality sleep translates to quality health. It doesn’t happen overnight, but as you continue to practice these tips you’ll start to see an increase in your sleep levels and quality.