Waking up feeling your best can have a profound effect on the way the rest of your day goes. Your bedtime habits play a huge role in dictating how you wake up. If you often feel sluggish after you wake up or do not have the energy to get your day started, it is beneficial to look at your bedtime habits to either change or improve them. Below, we will look at some bedtime habits you can cultivate or change to ensure you wake up feeling your best and have the energy to get through the day.
Avoid Electronics Before Bed
Numerous research papers have been written about the effects of using electronics right before bed. They all come to the conclusion that using electronics can make it harder to fall or stay asleep, leading to issues such as insomnia and reduced sleeping hours. If you can, try to put your electronics away about an hour before you go to bed.
When you do this, you will fall asleep faster, which will increase the number of hours you sleep and have dreams. The more hours you sleep, you increase the amount of time you spend in REM sleep. REM sleep is the deepest part of sleep and can help you feel relaxed and clear-headed once you wake up.
Find Snoring Remedies
Snoring is one of the most common reasons why people do not get enough sleep and when they do, it is often not deep enough to be classified as quality sleep. In most cases, your partner will let you know if you snore. If your partner confirms that you do indeed snore, a simple remedy would be to use single use strips to nix snoring. These strips help keep your mouth closed as you sleep, which can help you breathe nasally, thereby helping to eliminate snoring.
If you live alone and find that you are not getting the right kind of sleep, it would be a good idea to see a doctor.
Get a Better Alarm
While a loud alarm is good for the morning, there are alarms that do much more than that. There are some that simulate a sunset so that your circadian rhythm is always in check. This can help you fall asleep more easily and naturally, so you do not have to spend time tossing and turning.
These alarms also simulate a sunrise with increasing morning or alarm sounds. This eliminates the jarring wake up calls most alarms have.
Create a Sleep-friendly Environment
Harsh lights and sunlight in the morning can lead to a frustrating night or morning. For better sleep, turn your lights off completely. If you are not used to the dark, you can get lights that dim gradually as you fall asleep.
As for the morning, you can get black-out curtains or blinds from DotcomBlinds that will keep your bedroom dark until you are ready to get out of bed.
Avoid Heavy Meals Before Bed
Heavy meals can cause bloating, indigestion, or other digestive issues that can interrupt your sleep. If you cannot avoid a heavy meal before bed, try to eat a few hours before bedtime. This will give everything time to settle down before you get into bed.
Limit Caffeine and Smoking Before Bed
Caffeine leads to increased heart rate and brain activity. Both of these have a negative effect on your ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, and get the quality of sleep you need. Cigarettes are another stimulant that has similar effects to caffeine. If you smoke and find it hard to fall or stay asleep, try quitting smoking.
What you do before bed will determine the quality of sleep you get. It is, therefore, important to examine your bedtime habits to ensure they are not interfering with your ability to sleep, as that will also affect how you wake up.
Image: Photo by bruce mars
