Sleep Tips You Probably Didn’t Know

Sleep plays a crucial role in everyone’s health. A good night’s sleep helps restore energy and improve mood effectively. Lack of sleep and restless sleep can make you tired, sluggish, and affect your work and life. To improve this, you can apply some sleep remedies.

Restless sleep, shallow sleep can be improved if you know how to apply some sleep remedies.

Diaphragmatic breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing is a simple yet effective sleep remedy for people who experience frequent sleep disturbances. You can do this by closing your eyes, taking deep breaths through your nose, and exhaling through your mouth. Repeating this several times before going to bed will help you have a deep sleep.

Muscle relaxation

Only when your body is comfortable and fully relaxed can you have a good sleep. Therefore, muscle relaxation is also an important factor in reducing sleep difficulties and sleeplessness. The muscle relaxation method is very simple: Lie down comfortably, tense your muscles, hold for a few minutes and relax, then repeat from your feet to your head.

Soaking your feet in warm water is a sleep remedy that many people apply.

Soaking feet in warm water

Before going to bed, prepare a tub of water at about 40 – 50°C and soak your feet for about 10 – 15 minutes. This remedy will help increase blood circulation, thereby helping you have a deep sleep and improve sleep disturbances.

Establish a regular sleep schedule

Sleep habits are determined by a “biological clock” that helps balance sleep and wakefulness. You should wake up at the same time in the morning and go to bed before it gets too late to reinforce your biological clock and improve sleep quality. Limiting short naps during the day will also help you have a better sleep at night.

Create a comfortable sleep environment

Another effective sleep remedy is to create an ideal sleep environment. Two necessary conditions for sleep are a quiet and dimly lit space. The lighting in the bedroom should be adjusted according to each individual’s preference, but in general, the bedroom should be clean, tidy, and free from noise and light to help you easily fall into a deep sleep.

You can also use essential oils to release a pleasant scent in the room, which helps relax and provide a good night’s sleep.

Change bad habits before sleep

To have the best quality sleep, you should give up habits that directly affect your sleep. Limit or avoid eating chocolate at night because it contains caffeine and theobromine – stimulants that increase heart rate and cause sleep difficulties.

Another sleep remedy is to avoid drinking coffee or alcohol at night.

The alcohol in wine and beer will also make you have restless sleep or wake up feeling tired and exhausted. You should also avoid drinking coffee in the afternoon because the effects of caffeine can last up to 12 hours after intake. Drinking too much water in the late afternoon will also make you frequently wake up to go to the bathroom, affecting your sleep.

Highly fatty or spicy foods will make your stomach work harder, causing acid reflux and discomfort. People who exercise should also avoid excessive physical activity before sleep as it will increase heart rate, stimulate the body, and make it difficult to fall into a good sleep.

Overthinking before sleep will create a restless, tense feeling, thereby causing sleep disturbances. Therefore, an effective sleep remedy that you should apply is to limit thinking about work or worries before going to bed. You can also sit in meditation to calm your mind and relax.

Source: VTC