Sleep is the most important element for our physical and mental health. A sound sleep helps you stay relaxed and calm and reduces the risk of many diseases and disorders.
However, these days, individuals often have to face sleeping disturbances due to several factors affecting them. These include stress, a poor lifestyle, certain health issues like diabetes, and others that impact your sleeping pattern.
Nevertheless, one should adopt healthy sleep etiquette in their daily life to make their mind calm, sleep quicker and longer, and eventually, retain a refreshed tomorrow.
What are the benefits of healthy sleep habits ?
Certainly, there are enormous advantages to adopting healthy sleep habits. From improving your mental health to saying goodbye to several disorders, sound sleep helps you in plenty of ways.
- It enhances your cognitive functions, such as learning and problem-solving skills.
- It can reduce several diseases, including insomnia.
- It may help you cope with stress, depression, and anxiety.
- A good sleeping habit may help boost the immune system.
- It helps in managing severe other health issues, including PCOD, obesity, and diabetes.
- Lastly, it promotes our overall mental and physical health.
Some good sleep habits to include in our daily life
Sleep has multiple health benefits, and if we talk about getting sound sleep, it can have a positive impact on our overall health.
On the other hand, modern life is very disturbing; it makes you sacrifice your sleep for various reasons. To get enough quality sleep, one must follow healthy sleep habits in their daily life.
Some of these habits include the following
1. Make a sleep schedule
You've probably heard that creating a sleep routine makes it easier for people to consistently follow the sleep-wake cycle. This schedule should also be followed on both the weekends and the holidays.
Do your best to adhere to it. It will assist your body and mind in developing the habit of sleeping well at night and waking up with a peaceful and comfortable feeling.
2. Create a cosy sleep environment
Here, you have to do a lot of things to make sure you get a comfortable sleeping experience. First and foremost, before going to bed, make sure you take a warm shower or try to meditate for a short while.
Additionally, make sure you create an environment that is quiet, dark, comfortable, and relaxing.
You may utilize blackout curtains to block out light, or you can use earplugs to saturate the sounds. Lastly, use mattresses and pillows that will provide you with the utmost comfort.
3. Say no to caffeine and alcohol
Yes, if you want to have healthy sleeping habits, you have to avoid caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. These substances are the major reasons to keep us awake or disrupt our sleep quality. Depending on your body, caffeine can last up to 3 to 7 hours after you consume it. On the other hand, alcohol is not good as it causes us to wake up more often during the night. So it’s essential to limit the intake of both substances.
Instead of caffeine, you can have a glass of nutmeg milk an hour before you go to sleep, as nutmeg is said to induce sleep and soothe the mind.
4. Do not take nap for longer hours
Napping in the afternoon is beneficial for many individuals who are facing irregular sleep schedules.
However, napping too long or for hours may affect us negatively as it reduces our sleep quality. One may also struggle to fall asleep at night. Henceforth, you must limit your nap to 20–25 minutes only.
5. Put away electronic devices at least 30 minutes before going to bed
If you are facing symptoms such as insomnia or are struggling with getting a peaceful sleep, electronic devices can be one of the reasons for it.
TVs, laptops, mobile devices, and other gadgets can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates our sleep cycle.
If you want to adopt healthy sleeping etiquette, you must turn off or mute your devices at least 30 minutes before going to bed.
6. Don’t forget to include exercise
A 30-minute walk will also do if you are consistent about following the routine. Both indoor and outdoor exercises can help you regulate your sleep cycle.
You may exercise anytime during the day. However, do not imply this an hour or two before going to bed, as it may increase your energy levels and you may end up staying awake at night.
How can we start practicing good sleep etiquette?
Are you facing a sleep problem? Don’t you know what to do when everyone else is sleeping and you are wandering around with thousands of thoughts running through your mind?
Well, then you should start practicing sleep etiquette today itself.
Firstly, you need to understand that you can’t apply all of the above things from the very first day.
So, all you have to do is make small and gradual changes to manage your sleep problems. Set specific goals for yourself to adopt two or three habits in your day-to-day life.
For example, you can avoid drinking alcohol as well as caffeine for a month or two to see how things work for you. Additionally, you can follow the sleep schedule to see the changes in your sleep-wake cycle.
Furthermore, as time passes, you can adapt the other mentioned habits to your daily ritual so that you become successful in achieving good, sound sleep.
You can also use smart watches or smartphone apps to track your sleep pattern. This can help you monitor how your sleep changes over time, and you can also make adjustments accordingly when needed.
Finally, remember that good sleep etiquette is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Rather, it is a very personalized approach that may vary from one person to another. A few things may work for you but may not for another person, and vice versa.
Henceforth, you have to check yourself to see what will suit you. Once you get to know about it and become habitual with it, try to stick to it.
Reviewed by
Neuro Psychiatrist
