Let's face it – everyone could use a better night's sleep. Your sluggish or tired behavior around the house or at work can be from not getting enough sleep. Believe it or not, the average family doesn’t get the required amount of hours of shuteye on a daily basis which can lead to a variety of work-performance issues and health problems. To help you feel more energized and positive during the day, here are eight ways to help you and your family get the best sleep every night.
Stick to a Sleeping Routine
If you tend to switch up your sleeping schedule or routine on a daily basis, this may be a large contributing factor to why you’re not getting enough sleep. Instead, work on keeping your day at a steady rhythm, this way your body can fall asleep faster, and you will get much more slumber.
The more often you go to bed at one specific time, the more you will allow yourself to doze off at that time, and get a reasonable number of hours per sleep every night. Your body will thank you! Not getting enough sleep can not only cause mental struggles but physical struggles as well, and can also lead to a series of more serious health-related issues.
Build a Better Sleeping Environment
Believe it or not, how bright or low your lights are, or how hot your room is, determines how well you will snooze. By creating a better resting environment with darker lighting and a cooler temperature, you will be much more likely to sleep more soundly.
If your child is having a hard time sleeping due to allergies, it’s important to provide a better and safer sleeping environment with more breathable sheets and pajamas. In addition, it’s wise to leave a humidifier in the room to keep the air moist enough throughout the night.
Unplug Your Bedtime
Since electrical devices can alter the quality of your resting due to electrical fields, it’s wise to leave them in another room or at least a couple of feet from where you’re snoozing. Joyce Johnson, a naturopath, says that, “Even if devices are turned off, they can emit electrical field, so unplug them.” Plus, the fewer devices you have surrounding you, the fewer distractions you have preventing you and your family from a great night of dreaming.
Try to Exercise Every Day
Try to get in 30 minutes of light exercise every day. Your repose has a direct correlation to your metabolism. So, how your body uses energy during the day will affect how it regenerates during the night. Be consistent and work out every day. Go for a walk or do some crunches. It's not about what you're doing, as long as you are active.
If you're not sure where to start, it’s not a bad idea to try a gym membership where you can enlist the help of a personal trainer. They can help you work on exercises that may help relieve certain muscles that could be the cause behind your lack of sleep. Plus, they can offer their own insight on different exercises to help tire you out more and cause you to sleep longer every night.
Eat Healthier
Your stomach also does a lot of work while you are sleeping. It requires more work to digest unhealthy foods. By eating healthy foods, you are not only making the job easier for your stomach, but you are also limiting the chances that your digestion will wake you in the night. Try to stay away from processed foods, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and other heavy foods before you go to bed.
Also, some parents try to sneak in a little bit of fruit to their child’s diet right before bedtime. It turns out, however, that the combination of protein and carbs have the same effect as tryptophan on children. Instead of giving fruit, try a snack of toast with peanut butter. Cheese, bananas, nuts, tuna, yogurt and eggs are also great healthy foods that help slumber.
Turn Out the Lights
To get the best sleep, block out all the light before you go to bed. Any type of light pollution can disrupt what would otherwise be a good night’s rest. So close the curtains, turn off the tv, and shut off the nightlight. You may also consider purchasing a sleeping mask if you are unable to shut out all of the light. If your children are afraid of the dark, consider putting a night light in the hallway and turn it off when they fall asleep. There are also nightlights that turn off on their own.
Keep Anxiety in Balance
Anxiety and other stress-related behaviors can lead to you having off nights of sleep. To help keep them in balance, work on relaxation exercises such as meditation or prayers, to help you relax. There is also a device called a Sleep Shepard that can help slow down brain waves while helping you snooze. In addition, it can help drown out exterior noises and plays music to drive your brain waves into a deeper slumber.
Try a New Mattress
If environmental factors are not the cause of your sleepless nights, it may be time to purchase a new mattress. Your mattress has a bigger effect on your bedtime than most people realize. As a general rule, your mattress should be used for no longer than seven years. If you are looking for an upgrade, consider a memory foam or micro coil mattress.
There are a number of easy things you can do to give yourself and your family a better night’s sleep. You can make an easy lifestyle change, such as exercising and eating better, or you can make an environmental change, like limiting screen time or buying a coil bed. A good night’s rest is incredibly important, especially for children. So shut off the lights, it’s time to drift off to dreamland.
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