4 Ways to Improve the Quality of Your Sleep

We’ve all suffered from sleep problems at one point or another in our lives. This is even more prone to happening during specific transitional or problematic periods in one’s life; like moving to a new house, or going through any big change. It’s human and normal to have a few nights of poor sleep. However, if this gets too repetitive and starts affecting your everyday life from how rarely you get a full night of deep rest, then you might have a problem. Here are some ways you can deal with poor quality sleep:

What Is Meant By Quality Sleep?

Many people mix between the amount of sleep and the quality of sleep they get when the two are completely different. We all know the recommended amount of sleep for adults is from 7-9 hours per day, but when it comes to the quality of sleep, determining is a little different. Sleep quality is identified through several factors including how long it takes you to fall asleep, whether you sleep through the night or wake up more than once, you’re able to fall quickly asleep if you do wake up, and if you feel rested when waking up in the morning.

Why Are You Having Sleep Problems?

Everyone suffering from sleep problems wracks their brains to understand why they are not able to get enough sleep. There are several reasons that could lead to the restlessness you’re suffering from such as developing bad sleeping habits like an irregular sleep schedule. Your lack of sleep could also be due to feelings of anxiety and stress or a chronic condition such as asthma or acid reflux. Finally, if you’re not identifying with any of these factors that could be affecting your sleep, you could be suffering from an undiagnosed sleep disorder such as insomnia, Restless Legs Syndrome, or Narcolepsy.

How to Improve the Quality of Your Sleep?

1. Avoid Screen-Time

Some people claim that they cannot fall asleep unless they spend at least an hour or two scrolling through their phone in bed. However, this is only an illusion and the habit actually has the opposite effect. Research has shown that blue light exposure in the evening should be reduced in order to improve the quality of sleep. Being exposed to the blue light from a phone or computer before bedtime can mess with the body’s natural circadian rhythm. It will also enhance attentiveness instead of inducing sleep, causing you to be more hyperactive than sleepy.

2. Minimize Caffeine Intake

We hate to say it to all of you out there that are addicted to coffee, but it’s probably the reason why you’re getting such poor quality of sleep. Caffeine is a major brain stimulant and having it excessively through the day will only keep your brain up and running, refusing to slow or shut down when it’s time for sleep. We’re not saying completely quit caffeine, but you can just avoid it in the last 6 hours before your bedtime, you can still have your morning coffee!

3. Look Into Your Lifestyle

Besides caffeine intake, there are other lifestyle choices that could be affecting your ability to sleep well. Things like increased alcohol or caffeine intake can have you fervently looking for a product that can help you sleep. You’ll be happy to know that there are plenty of products such as specifically designed pillows and mouthpieces that help you to stop snoring. Make sure that when you look into these snoring solutions, that you find reliable reviews so that you have a better idea of how they work and how you can implement them in your sleeping routine. The way you sleep on your pillow and how it is propped up will make a great difference. 

You should also start finding the necessary treatment in case you have trouble sleeping due to lifestyle choices such as drinking alcohol, caffeine, or generally having a hard time falling asleep easily at night and you should also look into fixing the root of the problem. Look into your diet choices and avoid eating heavy meals before bed but also not going to sleep hungry as well. Make sure you also include exercise or any activity in your day since it rescues insomnia as long as it’s not right before bedtime.

4. Stay Consistent

The most important thing in order to maintain a good quality of sleep throughout the night is to be consistent with your sleep schedule. Make an effort to become in sync with your natural sleep-wake cycle by trying to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day to set your body’s internal clock. That means no sleeping-in during the weekend or stealing mid-day naps unless they’re around 15-20 minutes. If you struggle to fall asleep for more than 20 minutes, get out of bed and do any activity until you’re tired.

There you have it; now you’re aware of almost all there is to know about what affects our quality of sleep and how you can improve it. When it comes to sleep, everyone has their own rituals that work for them, you’ll just have to keep trying different things until you find what works best for you. You can experiment with soothing types of tea like jasmine or lavender, take a warm bath, have a warm glass of milk; the options are endless and not the hardest to experiment with.