How To Build a Healthy Sleep Habit

Here are six tips on building a healthy sleep habit.

1. Sleep for eight whole hours.

Your body naturally alternates between the various sleeping cycles throughout the night, and spends more time in the REM stage the longer you are asleep. That is why it is essential to sleep for a full eight hours every night, and why missing even a single hour of sleep can leave you feeling as if you hadn’t slept at all.

The first step in building a healthy sleep habit is accepting that you need eight hours every night and making sure you prioritize it on your schedule.

2. Manage your time.

You may see this as bad time management, but keep in mind that good time management is doing a few things well, not doing a lot of things poorly.

Getting enough sleep will ensure that you are at your best when you take on any other task. Serial entrepreneur and lifestyle guru Timothy Ferriss calls quality sleep “the currency of high-performance living.”

It is easy to get the right amount of sleep you need if you fall asleep and wake up at the same time every day.

3. Unwind before you go to sleep.

In addition to scheduling eight hours for sleep, you should also schedule at least half an hour of relaxing activity to allow you to wind down before sleep.

This activity can include reading or listening to music, or taking a hot bath which will cause your body temperature to drop and naturally make you feel drowsy.

4. Create a dreamy sleeping environment.

A good sleeping environment is essential to getting quality sleep. It should be free of noise and light, as well as any electronics including computers and phones.

There should not be a visible clock face in the room where you sleep. Your mattress and pillow should be as comfortable as possible.

Experiment with different levels of softness or firmness, and consider using side sleeping pillows for additional comfort.

5. Keep your fitness routine for daytime hours.

While aerobic exercise during the day has been proven to improve the quality of sleep, you should refrain from exercising within three hours of going to bed.

6. Eliminate energizers.

You should also avoid eating or imbibing alcohol during this period and limit the amount of fluids consumed of all kinds.

If you drink caffeine, you should limit it to the morning hours, as stimulants can actually disrupt your sleep for eight or more hours after they are consumed.

- Alex Moore 

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Buxone How To April 05, 2020