Poor Sleep? Try These Strategies

Getting a solid 7-8 hours of sleep every night is crucial because that’s the time for your body to rest and recharge. Heart rate, metabolism and all other bodily functions slow down during sleep, giving them the much needed rest after the day's activities. This is also time for the brain to form and store memories. 

Lack of Sleep Causes Mild Depression

 Lack of sleep means your body hasn’t had enough rest, and hence leaves you feeling tired during the day. Working late at night, shift work, jet lag, sleep apnea and insomnia are some of the causes for poor quality of sleep, leading to fatigue and low productivity.

 A good night’s sleep keeps you fresh and rejuvenated at whatever you do. The lack of it can cause irritability, headache, even anxiety and mild depression, thus causing mental health problems. Studies show that subjects who slept for four and a half hours per night reported feeling more stressed, sad, angry, and mentally exhausted. 

Sleep Is The Magical Thing That Helps Us Process Information

The term “sleep on it” is more than just a motivational phrase. Sleeping helps your brain rest and process information, and thus open up new solutions and ideas when you wake up.

Sleep regulates the stress hormones in the body and helps your nervous system remain healthy. So continued sleep deprivation can impact your body’s ability to manage stress hormones and consequently lead to high blood pressure. This can severely affect your cardiovascular health, creating the risk of hypertension, stroke and other related health challenges regulating hormones and thus has an impact on your blood sugar. 

 Poor quality sleep leads to less of the hormone released in your body after eating, while also releasing more cortisol or stress hormones. This impacts the already low glucose hormone’s ability to do its job, which leads to high blood sugar, increasing your chances of developing diabetes. Additionally, if you are already struggling with diabetes, lack of sleep can make it difficult to effectively control it.

 Some ways of improving your sleep include:

• Stop using electronic devices like a cellphone or laptop or watching television a minimum of 30 minutes before you go to bed. The blue light emitted can make it harder to fall asleep.
• Ensure your sleep schedule is consistent. Having poor bedtime habits like going to bed too late (when you're overtired) or too early (when you're not tired) could make it harder to sleep soundly.
• Set the thermostat in your bedroom to between 60 and 67 degrees F. When you sleep in a room that's too cool or too warm, it can interfere with how your body drifts off.
• Avoid beverages with caffeine around six hours before you go to bed and alcohol within three hours.  Caffeine can make it difficult for you to fall asleep and alcohol can cause disrupted sleep.
• Come up with a relaxing pre-bedtime routine, like reading a book or taking a bath. Your likelihood of a simple transition to sleep is lowered when you engage in stressful or high-energy activities.
• Limit your consumption of alcohol to one to two drinks per day if at all.  Try not to drink alcohol too close to bedtime so not to impact your quality of sleep.

When you've had a good night's sleep, you can definitely tell. You wake up feeling full of energy, refreshed, and you're ready to begin your day. Sleep is important for both mental and physical well-being.