Are you dozing off at your desk but find yourself wide awake in the middle of the night? Chronic sleep loss can have short- and long-term negative impacts on your health, including depression, obesity, reduced immune system function, and more serious conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. Here are five tips to help you get quality sleep so you can live your best life:
Make time for sleep
Sleep is one of the pillars of health, along with diet and exercise. Set aside eight hours for sleep just like you would for work, mealtimes, or an exercise class.
Be consistent
A relaxing wind-down routine each night helps your brain produce melatonin, a hormone associated with sleep. Try dimming the lights, reading a book, or having a hot cup of tea. Equally as important is a consistent wake time every morning. And yes, that means weekends too.
Ditch the screens
It may be tempting to watch TV or scroll through TikTok before bed, but the light emitted from screens suppresses the production of melatonin. Try turning off those screens an hour or two before bed and switch to a book instead.
Limit your caffeine and alcohol consumption
Try to limit your caffeine consumption to one or two servings per day, and don’t have any past noon. Caffeine is a stimulant and can take hours to wear off. Even though alcohol can make you feel relaxed and sleepy, it has a negative impact on the quality and duration of sleep.
Be active
Regular physical activity can help you get better rest at night and even help alleviate sleep-related problems. However, avoid exercising too close to bedtime, or you may end up too energized to fall asleep.