5 Ways To Get More Sleep
Can’t get enough sleep? You’re not alone. Its actually more common to be sleep deprived than get enough sleep. Next to everything else going on in the day, sleep almost always gets the short end of the stick and falls low on the priority list. Sleep deprivation can affect your body in many ways including: fatigue, your mood, slowing of your metabolism and causing you to make poor food choices.
To avoid sleep deprivation, most people need to be getting between 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Your body needs enough sleep so that it can go through 3-5 full REM cycles and repair itself to function at an optimal level. To check how your body responds to sleep and identify the optimal amount of sleep to get each night, I recommend taking some notes. Over the course of a week, write down the time that you go to bed and when you wake up, as well as what your energy level was on a 1-10 scale each of those days. At the end of the week, you’ll have a better understanding of how much sleep you actually need per night. Being that everyone is different, you may even find that you need more than 7-8 hours of sleep a night or you may even need less than 7-8 hours of sleep. If you've been having challenges getting enough sleep, I've put together five suggestions to help.
1. Naps
One way to make up for the affects of lost sleep is by taking a nap. If you are going to take a nap, the most ideal time to take one is between 8-9 hours after you wake up in the morning. I recommend taking a nap that lasts either 20 minutes or 90 minutes. By taking a 20 minute nap, it will put your body into light sleep by going through the first two stages of a REM cycle. By taking a 90 minute nap, you will go into deep sleep and go through a full REM cycle. Each of these have tremendous regenerative affects on the body and will help you combat sleep deprivation.
2. Make Sleep A Priority
Based on the time that you need to wake up, schedule in your sleep to allow for 7.5 hours unless you need more or less. A great way to make sleep a priority is to create a routine that revolves around getting to bed. By creating a routine at night, it will help your body calm down and be ready to fall asleep by the time you hit the pillow
3. Regulate The Temperature
If you can't sleep well, it could be because of the temperature in your room. As you sleep, your body temperature rises and if your room is too warm, you may have challenges getting quality sleep at night. I recommend setting your thermostat to below 68 degrees and adjusting the covers based on the time of year to keep your body cooler and get better sleep.
4. Protect Your Sleep Space
Something that is super important to getting great sleep is developing a space that is just for sleep. Ditch the phone, turn off the tv, dim the lights and get blinds or an eye mask that blackout the room. Do this at least 15 minutes before you go to bed, as direct exposure to light can increase how alert you are and affect how quickly you fall asleep. If you live in a loud area or have a partner who snores, invest in earplugs or listen to white noise in your headphones, so that you have more time getting un interrupted sleep.
5. Quiet the Mind
If you get to bed and your mind starts racing on what you need to get done the next day, get a notepad and keep it by your bed. When you get a thought that crosses your mind, write it down on your notepad and help free it from consuming your thoughts. In addition, try to avoid engaging in any planning or creative problem solving while in bed, just write it down and tackle it the next day.
I hope that you have the most amazing day and get a better night's sleep tonight!
All the Best,
Mike