Sleep is as important as fresh food and exercise to enhance our well-being. If we don’t get enough sleep, our ability to manage stress is compromised. Sleep regenerates our energy level, reduce stress and we won’t fall sick often.

Even if we are sick, sleeping allows the body to kick into conservation mode, directing energy to the immune system. 9 out of 10 times, we can beat the illness away and preventing the sickness from being worst.

Sleep and Stress

Why do some people lose sleep during period of stress while others seem to “sleep like a baby”? The difference may be the way they cope with stress.

Tel Aviv University, Dr Avi Sadeh reported in his research that those who tend to focus on their emotion and anxiety during high stress period are more likely to shorten their sleep than those who ignore emotions and focus on the task on hand.

Sleep is necessary to help consolidate the effects of waking experience by converting memory to more permanent or enhanced form.

How To Sleep Better?

1) Avoid Stimulants

Don’t exercise or drink caffeinated drinks just before sleep. Exercise helps the blood to circulate faster and energize the body while caffeinated drinks are stimulants. Both cause the body to be more alert rather than relax, which is necessary for sleeping

2) Avoid Alcohol Induced Sleep

While alcohol may help you to fall asleep, you may not get the healthy deep quality sleep. Using alcohol to induce sleeping is dangerous, as it will lead to addiction.

3) Eat Right

Take Calcium and Magnesium rich foods or supplements can help to relax the body muscle. This can help prepare the body for sleeping. Take green leafy vegetables during dinner or have a drink of warm milk before bedtime will give a good dose of calcium and magnesium.

Eat a carbohydrate rich and protein rich in amino acid, tryptophan will help calm the brain and relax the body.

Avoid heavy, rich food 2 hours before bedtime as fatty food take a lot of work for your stomach to digest and may keep you awake.

4) Exercise

Be active or exercise early in the day. This is a powerful way to burn energy and fire the body, and you will feel tired enough to sleep better.

5) Boost Melatonin Production At Night

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps the body to regulate sleep-wake cycle. Production of melatonin is controlled by light exposure. The brain secretes more melatonin in the night when dark.

Therefore, try not to expose yourself to bright light such as TV , computer screen, backlit from iPad as they suppress the body production of melatonin and prevent you from going into sleep.

6) Keep Regular Schedule

Getting in synch with the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle is one of the most important strategies for achieving good, sound sleep. Set regular daily bedtime and wake up time and maintain this even in the weekend

If you need to make up for lost sleep, take a nap in the day rather than waking up late. This allows you to pay off sleep debt without affecting the natural sleep-wake pattern.

Are you getting enough sleep? If you wake up without the alarm feeling mentally sharp and focus, it means you have slept enough.

How is the quality of  your sleep each day? Are you getting enough? Share with me in the comment box below.

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