Exhaustion, fatigue, or general restlessness can be incredibly disruptive to your sleep. Though mild sleep problems are common and can usually be reversed with a nightly dose of melatonin or other sleep aids, there are dozens of methods to improve sleep quality naturally.
Some common sleep problems you might’ve encountered are:
- Having trouble falling asleep for more than half an hour every night.
- Having trouble staying asleep.
- Waking up earlier than usual and not being able to fall back asleep.
- Snoring, teeth grinding, leg shaking, sleepwalking, or experiencing breathing difficulties.
- Sleeping too long and too frequently.
If you’re experiencing any of the following, here are a few tips to take after in order to achieve a good night’s rest.
How Much Sleep Should I Get?
How much sleep you need every night will depend on your age and physical condition. Take a look at these commonly recommended numbers to get an idea of how much sleep you really need.
- Toddlers: 11 – 14 hours
- Preschoolers: 10 – 13 hours
- Elementary school children: 9 – 11 hours
- Teenagers: 8 – 10 hours
- Adults: 7 – 9 hours
- Older adults and seniors: 7 – 8 hours
Depending on your needs, you may require more sleep or less sleep. If you’re an adult, sleeping less than 6 hours or more than 10 hours a night might indicate a more serious health problem.
How Sleep Problems Affect Mental Health
If you aren’t getting enough sleep, this can negatively impact your mood, emotions, and general demeanor. Disturbed sleep might increase irritability, grumpiness, depression, anxiety, and stress. This can make it difficult to make big decisions and cause a lack of concentration and drowsiness throughout the day.
Tips for Improving Sleep
Minor changes in your everyday behavior can make a great impact on improving your sleep. As a general rule, work towards increasing behaviors that promote sleep and improve sleep quality while reducing behaviors that disrupt it.
1. Avoid caffeine before bed
Having coffee, soda, tea, or chocolate before bed isn’t a good idea when you’re trying to get some sleep. Keep in mind that some medications commonly used to treat colds or allergies may contain caffeine as well.
2. Avoid alcohol before bed
Because drinking alcohol can make you drowsy, you may think it could work well as a sleeping aid. The fact is, those experiencing chronic alcohol problems will also likely experience chronic sleep problems, so be sure to avoid a bottle of beer or glass of liquor before bedtime.
3. Find ways to unwind
Because blue light emitted from gadgets can negatively affect sleep, be sure to put away your laptop, smartphone, or tablet at least 30 minutes before bed. Instead, find other ways to relax such as reading a book, completing a crossword puzzle, or meditating.
4. Exercise a few hours before bed
Regular exercise between 30 to 60 minutes about three times a week can result in a deeper, more relaxing sleep. If you haven’t added exercise to your routine, be sure to do so and schedule it at least 4 hours before bed.
5. Stick to a routine
Keeping a consistent schedule can help your body get into a routine, which includes regular sleeping patterns. If you get up and go to bed at varying hours, you may be prone to sleeping problems.
6. Invest in a good mattress
How much you enjoy your mattress can dictate the quality of your sleep. If you’re tossing and turning all night, it might be time to look up memory foam mattress reviews online.
Conclusion
We all know the terrors that come with a night of tossing and turning and getting up at strange hours without being able to fall back into a slumber.
If you’re on the hunt for that perfect mattress in the US, take a look at what we have to say at Mattress Review Guru! We let you in on the best mattress reviews and what type of support can best promote sleep.
