If you struggle with sleeping well and having a good day this article may help you. You can enhance your cognition and focus just by sleeping better and getting more of it. Don’t try the “smart drugs”, or supplements, as they don’t work nearly as well as just plain sleep.
There are many articles out there explaining strategies for better sleep. You can purchase items like a spiky mat, take something called ZMA, eating honey before you go to bed, or a long list of other things. If you just do some small simple changes to your lifestyle you will have a major change in the quality and quantity of sleep.
Hot shower before bed – this encourages melatonin and other growth hormones that promotes relaxation of the muscles. As the body cools down from the shower the sleep will be much more restorative. Open your window just a bit – sleeping is better when the room is slightly cooled.
It’s nice to wrap up in something warm when sleeping. Run or walk in the middle of the day – the more exercise you get, the more sleep you get. Vitamin D is important for this as well. Wind down doing something without screens – 15 minutes before bed put all screens away and do some reading to decrease cortisol production.
Unwind from the day – forget the stresses of the day. Prioritize and put your body first – get into a routine before bedtime. Set the environment up for success – make sure you have comfortable pajamas, soft blankets, and something to block out the light.By following the above list you will be able to wake up full of vim and vigor.
Invest in a daylight alarm to gently wake you up before the regular alarm does it. You will find that waking up is much more pleasant and that you will be more refreshed and ready for the day. By using a daylight alarm you will have a much nicer way of waking in the morning, even if you sleep until the regular alarm goes off.
No one wants to be awakened with a start and you will have less waking up with a jolt by doing this process. Once you come around everything takes on a new perspective. If you struggle to get up with the alarm clock it is easy to hit the snooze button. Try waking up in three stages instead of jumping up with one alarm.
If you have to hit the snooze button that’s ok but the second time it goes off be sure to grab a book, your phone, or something else to keep you from going back to sleep. Then you should be awake enough to get up. Getting up more slowly is healthier and easier to do.
If you wake up feeling not so well in the morning you may have something going on like allergies, hay fever, mold poisoning, dehydration, low blood sugar, or something else like what is listed. If you have trouble going to sleep because your mind won’t stop racing then figure out why you are thinking about it and deal with it.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to sleep. Just let it happen naturally and you will feel better in the long run. Don’t try to make yourself sleep and instead just try to relax and think of something else and chances are you will drift off.