4 Things To Help You Sleep
If you feel tired and sluggish in the day time, then perhaps you’re not getting enough sleep, or even the right kind of sleep. You’re not alone. Luckily, there are some simple rules to follow that can help you sleep better tonight.
Make It Dark
At night, your body produces a hormone called melatonin, which is linked to healthy sleeping patterns. Our production of melatonin is affected by light, which is why you should avoid sitting in front of computer screens or bright lamps before bedtime. If you live in an area where there are lots of streetlights, or it is during the short nights of summer, then consider blackout curtains in the bedroom, shutters or an eye mask to help your body maintain melatonin levels.
Avoid Alcohol
Despite making you feel tired, the scientific evidence stacks up against alcohol as an aid to sleep. It’s known as a ‘biphasic’; a substance whose influence changes over time. Researchers at Brown University found that it affected sleep most profoundly when drank in the late afternoon and early evening: the ‘Happy Hour’ effect.
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Reset Your Body Clock
Everyone has an inner clock. Comprised of your circadian rhythm which controls sleep patterns this is one of the main things to help you sleep better. You can help maintain a healthy circadian rhythm by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day of the week. One study by researchers at the University of Colorado found that camping for seven nights reset the body clocks of participants by up to two hours, an effect they think was caused by the darkness, quiet and a shared sleep/wake time among the group.
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Keep It Cool
Your body temperature rises during the day and falls at night. That’s why your bedroom should be cooler than recreation areas in your house. Warm bedrooms can disrupt your sleep by affecting the natural drop in body temperature, which bottoms out at around 5am for most people. The right temperature for you will depend upon your body, so you need to experiment to find the correct level.
