Have you ever found yourself grumpy and irritated by every little thing around you? You snap easily at people, you seem to lose control over your emotions and then wonder why that is so. Well, one explanation is that you might be hungry, so grab a snack or a chocolate bar to get you bursting with dopamine and good vibes. If this doesn’t help, then there is one more plausible explanation – you’re not getting enough quality sleep.
For a good nights’ sleep, you need at least 6 hours to go through the REM cycle 3 times, though the recommended amount of sleep is the golden 8 hours, or 4 complete REM cycles. Why is REM so important? Not only do you dream during this cycle, which helps your mind store tons of everyday information, but it relaxes your muscles and enables you to feel refreshed and restful in the morning.
In order to get more REM in your regular sleep and to sleep better altogether, you need to look into your everyday habits and the environmental conditions you live in. Here are some of the essential factors that can completely improve the way you sleep. No more sleepless nights from now on!
Stress management
The worst thing you can do is jump in bed right after you come home from work. Unfortunately, after a long and stressful day, this is what most of us do. If you take all your everyday problems and thoughts right into the bed, this is a guaranteed recipe for a horrible sleep.
What you should do instead is plan a small relaxation ritual at the end of each day, just before you go to bed, to help you relieve the long-day stressful experiences. One study has shown that reading a book you enjoy can reduce stress levels by up to 70%, which is more than listening to music or drinking tea can do for you. Practicing relaxation yoga, playing an instrument (if you have any and know how to play) and stress management coloring books can also do the trick.
Mattress revolution
You might have never thought about this, but the mattress you sleep on is the benchmark of good sleep. If you think you are used to sleeping on hard, wooden boards and a thin mattress and that is just what you need – you are very wrong. Having a good mattress can help you sleep better than you have ever slept before. Not only does it help you sleep better but it also helps you relieve stress and pain.
It might seem like a dull thing to spend your savings on a new, expensive mattress, but this is the best possible investment you can make in order to improve your overall sleep quality. There is a variety of king mattresses to choose from, all equipped with a lining of comfort layers and cooling, warming and air-circulating properties. With these mattress qualities, you are sure to wake up every day looking fresher than ever.
Beware the blue lights
Technology is all around us, and it might be impossible to get away from blue screens at some points. Even so, there are many reasons why you should avoid blue screens as much as possible. One of the main reasons is because they can completely misbalance your sleep. The blue light which screens emit is detrimental to sleep – it disrupts the natural circadian rhythm, especially when you stare at the screen just before you go to bed. The blue light has the ability to trick your body into thinking it should be awake, which is why it takes you longer to fall asleep and why you wake up unrested in the morning.
Unfortunately, a study by Sleep Foundation has shown that 89 percent of adults and 75 percent of children use blue light emitting devices in their bedroom on a regular basis. In order to change this, you can download apps that can help you by turning off your phone or locking it when you plan on going to sleep. Sometimes smartphones can really be smarter than us.
Avoid the hoarding disaster
If you find your room cluttered with stuff, making it almost impossible to reach your bed – you are a hoarder. A person that hoards is not only one that keeps all of the things they ever had in their room, but also one who is unable to organize their stuff in order to take up less space. Hoarders can easily be recognized by the piles of worn clothes or books that are rising up to the ceiling in every corner of their room.
As one New Your study has shown, in a room full of mess it’s hard to put away thoughts of unfinished tasks and this leads to sleep-disrupting anxiety. Moreover, the take-home message for hoarders would be – there is no good sleep until you’ve done a good clean-up.
Besides these milestones, an honorable mention should be given to the air and the temperature of the room you sleep in. Stashing your room with air-cleansing plants and setting the temperature of the room at around 65ºF can add to the wonderful sleep you are investing in.
