As we grow older, it is completely normal to notice that we wake up earlier than we used to. It is also very common to often wake up in the middle of the night. Even falling asleep during the daytime is difficult. Unfortunately, this is normal. Fortunately, there are things that you can do in order to get a much better night’s sleep.
How Much Sleep Is Enough?
There are countless articles talking about how much you should sleep. The truth is that they are deceiving since there is no such thing as a perfect sleep amount. The amount that you think is good can be totally different than what the neighbor believes. Even so, most experts recommend you get between 7 and 9 hours per night.
As a simple rule of thumb, if you feel tired and everything is ok with you from a medical point of view, you most likely need more sleep.
How To Sleep Better At Night
While there are many things that can be done, those that were proven to be very effective in the past are:
- Stick to a bedtime routine – You have to get used to your sleeping pattern. You want to get up and go to sleep at the exact same time every single day. This includes the weekends. The body gets used to the routine and you sleep better at night as a result.
- Get a better mattress – If you do not sleep on a good mattress, you cannot sleep well. It is really important that you buy one of the best mattresses on the market if you want to sleep or you will end up tossing and turning.
- Take a long warm bath – The temperature of your body drops when you finish your long warm bath. This can instantly help you to feel tired. In the end, you are relaxed and the body slows down. You will thus be much more ready to sleep.
- Calm down before going to sleep – Before you turn out all lights, it is worth it to take some time off and calm down. This includes turning off electronic devices. Do the same with the TV set and do it one hour before going to bed. During that time, you can listen to some music or read a book. This all makes you ready for bed.
- Turn the bedroom into a sleep-only zone – When you still find yourself awake half an hour after going to bed, the best thing you can do is to get up. Then, just go to bed after you feel that you are tired enough. This helps you to train your brain that you want to sleep and the bedroom is seen as a place where the only thing that happens is sleep.
- Do not take afternoon naps – When you sleep at the wrong times, it is tough to sleep during the night. Do not sleep during daytime because it makes it easy to be awake during nights.
- Reduce alcohol consumption – This is especially the case before you go to bed. Even some small amounts will make it difficult to sleep. You end up waking up during the night as the alcohol’s effects wear off.
- Exercise – As you exercise every day at regular times, your body gets stronger. However, this does not happen when you do so and there are under 3 hours left until you have to go to bed.
Conclusions
As you can easily notice, there are many things that you can do in order to go to sleep during the night and actually sleep. If you notice that there are huge problems and you still cannot do it, you should talk to a doctor.