4 Key Strategies To Get Better Sleep

culled from:morningcoach.com

How to Build Your Ideal Sleep Space So You Can Wake Up More Rested

Getting yourself to fall asleep can sometimes feel like a major struggle. If sleep is something our bodies need and crave, why is it so difficult to get to bed at a reasonable hour?
Especially if, like me, you enjoy waking up early to get a head start on your day, you know that it’s that extremely important to give your body its full rest during the night, so you’ll be ready to rise early and make the most of your morning.
But how can you make that transition to take your body from an wakeful state to a restful state more effectively?
You need to optimize your environment to help your body relax and prepare itself for a night of good sleep. Let’s take a look at the 4 key components to building your ideal sleep space.
1. Turn the temperature down.
Temperature matters a lot when it comes to sleep quality, and it’s a factor that’s often overlooked. Sleeping in a cooler environment will help improve your metabolic health, lessening your risk for diabetes and other issues.
In one study, researchers found that cooling bedrooms from 75 degrees to 66 degrees significantly benefitted the subjects’ bodies by increasing their volume of brown fat (the body’s “good fat”) and improving their insulin sensitivity.
Takeaway: Lower the thermostat before you go to bed — not to make it so cold that you’re shivering, but just enough that the room is slightly chillier.
2. Reduce light exposure.
Likely the most talked-about tip for preparing yourself for a good night’s sleep is reducing the amount of light you take in before going to bed. Exposing yourself to light before bed alters your body’s circadian rhythm and affects your production of melatonin, your body’s natural way of telling you that you’re ready to go to sleep.
So you not only want to make your sleep environment as dark as possible, but you should actually aim to start reducing light exposure several hours before you go to sleep.
Similarly, try using blackout curtains to preserve those last few hours of sleep in the morning. When you see light, your body is primed to get up, so blocking out light throughout your entire period of rest will help you maintain great sleep.
Takeaway: Turn off any unnecessary lights after dinner time, and swap your iPhone, iPad, or TV for a book instead. If you just can’t step away from your devices, try installing f.lux, which eliminates blue light from your screen.
3. Reduce noise.
Noise is another factor that keeps your body in a state of alertness. Reduce the amount of information that your brain needs to process by creating a quiet environment before bed. Try listening to more soothing music (or none at all), and use softer voices in conversation.
Then, make sure your actual sleep environment is as noise-free as possible. While you sleep, your brain continues to register and process sounds. Noise can disrupt your sleep, causing you to wake up, move around, shift between stages of sleep, or experience a change in heart rate and blood pressure.
If you can’t control the noise levels in your environment, try using ear plugs or adding white noise to help you tune it out as you fall asleep.
Takeaway: Turn down the noise levels in your environment a few hours before going to bed, and aim to prevent any noise-related disruptions to your sleep.
4. Give yourself enough physical space.
The fourth key factor in getting great sleep — also often overlooked — is the physical space you give yourself when you sleep. Your sleep can also be easily disrupted by physical encounters.
Whether the size of your bed is limiting your ability to sleep in a different position, or you bump into a partner several times throughout the night, you’re preventing your body from getting the uninterrupted rest it needs.
Think about who’s in your sleep environment with you. If you’re sleeping with a partner, get a big bed! People often keep their pets in their bedrooms with them, but animals don’t have the same sleep cycles as we do. Consider giving your pet its own sleep space to help you preserve your own.
Takeaway: Give yourself the physical space you need to avoid disruptions during the night from partners or pets, and achieve more continuous sleep.
When you think about building your ideal sleep space, think about building a cool, dark cave. By reducing temperature, light exposure, noise levels, and physical disruptions, you’re putting yourself on a path toward fewer interruptions and much fuller, more revitalizing sleep.
Plus, it’ll make it that much easier for you to become an early riser, so you can wake up feeling rested and start your day off right.
Now go ahead and start optimizing your sleep space! Good luck!