Global Wellness Expert Shares 6 Bedtime Habits to Fix Sleep
Our recovery cycle has been poorly disturbed due to long hours of screen exposure. Chronic stress and excessive use of caffeinated beverages are also playing a key role in severe mental concerns. The impacts of recovery disorders are bidirectional as they destroy both our health and productivity. According to multiple studies, around one-third of adults worldwide suffer from insomnia. Almost everyone experiences recovery orders at least once a night, while the majority experience insufficient shut-eye.
Chronic recovery disorders are linked to severe health diseases, including high BP, Diabetes, obesity, heart issues, and strokes, because they weaken the immune system. It also disrupts hormonal balance and causes mental stress. Its long-term presence brings unexpected mood swings. As our community relations depend on good mood, chronic recovery disorders can affect them. A satisfying sleep time improves our thinking and mind creativity. However, a slower recovery process due to less rest can cause challenges. It increases the per-task time, while several accidents are also reported due to slow recovery.
Try to Skip Heavy Meals Before Bed
Our body works on a natural schedule; a slight difference can imbalance the whole system. An odd-hours eating habit is the worst thing we do to our health. At night, our bodies try to wind down organ activity and activate their power-off mode.
People usually prefer light snacks late at night. These unhealthy additions at night disturb the natural pattern. Due to elevated energy levels, sleep is disturbed, and a person cannot feel satisfied even after lying for hours. If you are in dire need, limit yourself to warm milk or light, healthy snacks.
Late-night eating habits minimise your control over hunger hormones. The top concern is about heartburn and acid reflux, in which your stomach’s acid moves back toward the mouth. It happens when you go to bed with a full stomach. It can lead to several hidden complexities in fat storage and slow down recovery.
According to natural phenomena, the day is for work, and the night is for restoring organs by giving them the rest they need. The rhythm disturbs when we try to violate nature’s rules. If it is not possible to take a meal before hours, then some home remedies can reduce the effects. In this context, the use of honey milk or curcumin can improve sleep time.
Limit Screen Time Before Bed
Constant exposure to the screen’s blue light is a rapidly growing issue. It makes our eyes dry and affects our clear visibility. Over time, all these conditions affect the balance of sleep hormones and delay sleep. When eyes are exposed to blue illumination, specific eye cells perceive it as still daylight and send the same signals to the mind, resulting in delayed recovery.
It also reduces REM cycles, which are crucial for the functioning of the mental system, especially in decision-making and other relevant tasks. Blue illumination is twice as powerful as green illumination at suppressing recovery. A study was conducted on young adults reading on an electronic reader emitting short-wavelength illumination.
The results showed that their sleep was reduced by up to 55% as compared to those who read a print book. The study also found that children are more sensitive to illumination effects than adults because, over time, adult mental system cells mature. So quitting the screen at least one hour before bed is crucial for better recovery.
Create a Calming Bedtime Ritual
Throughout the day, our minds remain in “go mode”. However, for a healthy and satisfying sleep, we need to quiet everything around us. It will shift our mind from working to flight mode and relax all our nerves. Some easy activities and focused practices can help improve recovery.
You should start by releasing the whole day’s stress through the breath-in and breath-out process. Let all your thoughts stay away, and keep your focus on the activity. It becomes hard for those with multiple pending tasks for the next day, but proper execution can make sleep easier.
When we focus on a single point, the mind thinks everything is normal and that we need to recover, triggering the release of sleep hormones. Slow, satisfied breathing reduces our heart rate. Eventually, our BP drops, creating a relaxing environment for the body to recover.
During breathing activity, try to sit in a calm room. If this practice is not working well, then a warm shower one hour before bed will work more efficiently. It first activates the pores by increasing temperature, but there is a gap before it can return to normal. Try writing and yoga to control your scattered thoughts before sleep.
Stick to a Consistent Recovery Schedule
Our bodies love to perform all tasks at a consistent schedule. If you use the same trick to set a sleep schedule, you no longer need medication. It makes your mind addicted to a strict ritual, and it works accordingly. Irregular recovery patterns confuse the mind and interfere with the system’s functioning.
If your weekend and weekday recovery rituals differ, keep in mind that your system will never become habituated to a consistent recovery schedule. It will disturb your cortisol and sleep-regulating hormone functions. You should avoid “social jetlag” at all costs; otherwise, you will feel severe muscle fatigue, just as you do after a long trip. It leads to daytime grogginess rather than alertness.
Fragmented rituals reduce deep sleep time, severely impacting the system’s metabolism and digestive system, which remain out of control. Your alarm should never quit, even on Saturday and Sunday, and you should follow the same ritual rather than treating these days as “payback” recovery debt.
For additional recovery, you can take a power nap after lunch. It refreshes the cognitive muscles, and mental alertness becomes doubled. Use of Vitamin D or brief exposure to sunlight can also set a proper pattern for the recovery cycle.
Optimise Your Recovery Environment
Your bedroom’s temperature and noise level play a crucial role in your recovery cycle. If you live in a crowded room, you will definitely wait for others to doze off; otherwise, you will either get a shallow sleep or no recovery at all. Our systems always lower their core pressure to help you drift off.
If your room temperature is already low, you will hit the hay faster than in a warm room. The best solution is to select a room with a moderate temperature. Additionally, choose always breathable material for bedding. It expels all extra heat and maintains the required temperature. You also need to turn off the lights and block the outer light with curtains.
Try to block access to high-pitched sounds. It can create problems for the mind as it slips into a passive state. For a better solution, use a white screen that allows only natural sounds to pass through. Listening to them consistently, you fall into interrupted recovery.
Avoid Evening Stimulants
If you drink caffeine in the evening, it keeps your system more active for the next 10 hours. It prevents adenosine signals from reaching your mind, so your mind fails to receive groggy signals. It reduces total recovery time, increases latency, and completely decreases deep sleep duration. You should take all such beverages in the morning or before lunch.
Nicotine, which comes from smoking, also boosts your BP and heart rate. If you take it before you doze off, you will face increased fragmentation. Insomnia patients should avoid both nicotine and caffeine at all costs.
Similarly, you should avoid a heavy workout before sleep. It affects our sleeping patterns in two ways. If you are performing all in the morning, the chances of early sleep become double. However, the same workout can become problematic if you are doing it at the wrong time. The most preventable hours are right before going to bed.
Final Analysis
Rest and sleep are like art; it’s up to you how much and how well you want. Everything related to your mind doesn’t need a quick fix; rather, it requires a consistent lifestyle adoption. Your recovery cycle depends on your mental activity, so you have to train your mind to know when to doze off and when to wake. If you follow a consistent ritual, you will be successful in your mind training.
There is no harm in consulting a physician for a recovery-improving plan, as it’s a lifelong issue, and you should know how your system and mind work. One sleep fix can reverse all your system concerns, so taking care of that is as worthy as we can think.
