Frustration From Lack of Sleep
Experiencing complete wakefulness while trying to get good rest occasionally is common for many individuals.
Poor quality sleep occurs somewhat frequently, as millennials recently reported having a lack of sleep that made them feel groggy or with a mental fog when they woke up.
So what is it that makes us feel irritable and lethargic even when we try to get 8 hours of sleep?
Certain habits may be sabotaging the quality of your sleep, despite the amount of hours you dedicate each night towards rest. These habits can be narrowed down to the place(s) you sleep, the times you go to sleep, and the activities you do right before you rest.
Keep reading if you want to find out how to get a good night’s sleep and trying to avoid insomnia that’ll keep you up for hours.
How To Get Better Quality Sleep
As mentioned before, your quality of sleep is basically broken down into 3 areas where they matter the most:
Where You Sleep:
The key words with this is cool, dark, and quiet. The temperature of your room should be 60 to 69 degrees and no warmer than 72 degrees. The reason why is because our bodies have thermoregulators that produce sweat when we’re hot to cool us off.
If the room is too humid then the sweat has nowhere to go evaporate since the air is already saturated, so you’ll wake up since you’ll be covered in sweat. If the room is too cold, you’ll start shivering in your sleep which will disturb your sleep too.
Next, your mattress. If it’s older than 10 years throw it out. Even the most expensive, well designed mattresses start to sag and sink in the middle after about the 7 year point.
Pillows also need to be changed out once a year for the same reason.
Lastly, our minds makes psychological connections with the places we spend our time in. So if you use your bed for doing work or anything else beside sex or sleep you’ll have difficulty falling asleep.
When You Sleep:
Timing of when you sleep comes down to consistency. If you find yourself not falling to sleep when you know it’s late, it’s probably because your body just isn’t ready yet.
People who travel a lot know this as changing time zones often messes with your body’s circadian rhythm and makes you groggy because daylight affects when you wake up.
Sleeping at inconsistent times every night does the same thing because your body is used to being up and awake at a certain part of the day and at rest the other part of the day.
To avoid not falling asleep when you know you should, try to go to sleep around the same time every night.
Habits You Have Before You Sleep:
The worst habit before bed is the use of technology right before bed. Since technology mostly surrounds people now, people have become accustomed to using devices throughout the day up until bedtime.
Research has found that this isn’t the best thing for us since technology devices emit a “blue” light that reaches the back of our retinas which can prohibit the brain form entering a sleeping state.
Blue light lowers melatonin produced in the brain, which you tend to feel “awake” when you use light emitting devices before bed.
There are certain foods and drugs that stimulate an alertness state in the evening hours when consumed. The biggest culprit is caffeine, which should be avoided at least 6 hours prior to sleep.
Alcohol is classified as a depressant by the FDA, which is why alcohol is miscontrued as an aid for getting quality rest. Alcohol is one of the worse substances to consume before sleep because of how it affects the brain’s cycles during deep rest.
The first phase of deep sleep, known as REM (rapid eye movement) is vital for the brain to sort and organize the previous day’s memories. This is also when hormones for repairing cellular damage can be released for recovery.
Drinking alcohol in evening hours can induce sleep, however alcohol causes the release of cortisol, a hormone that’s release in response to flight or fight stimulation. When this hormone is released, REM sleep is interruptedREM sleep is interrupted and you never feel truly rested by time the night’s over.
Other bad habits that some are guilty of is late night eating. Late night eating usually occurs because too little calories and/or macros were consumed during the day or an individual may be overcoming an addiction to food (see Top 10 Signs You Might Have A Food Addiction).
Consuming large meals at night should be avoided as it can lead to stomach indigestion, cramping, or insomnia.
The Wrap Up
Your sleeping habits, bedroom environment, and overall lifestyle has a lasting impact on your overall sleep. To improve sleep quality, it would be wise to review areas of neglect that can be self-assessed or by a sleep specialist. If you’re experiencing consistent nights of insomnia, a sleep therapist may be able to isolate the true causes of your issue.
What else do you want to know?
Why Sleep Is Important for Training
How Alcohol Affects Your Sleep
Why We Should Be Aiming For 8 Hours of Sleep
