Seven Sleeping Secrets for a Healthier life
At Bed Centre we understand the value of sleep and the impact it ultimately has on your health and longevity. Most of us don’t realise the impact our modern lifestyles have on our sleeping patterns and how these bad habits may be affecting our overall health and wellness. Sleep may in fact be the greatest legal performance enhancing drug that most people are probably neglecting in their lives.
Here are some life altering tips on how to get better sleep that we can fully recommend, guaranteed to change the way you think about your routine before getting ready for bed every night:
(1) Living a life of regularity is most important thing you can do for better sleep by going to bed, and waking up at the same time every day.
(2) In the last hour of the day stay away from any screens. What most people don’t realize is that one hour of iPhone use before bed will delay the onset of melatonin production by about 3 hours (not to mention that your peak melatonin levels will also be about 50% less) and in the end all of this adds up to less REM sleep.
(3) Get into the habit of turning off most of the lights in your house at night 2-3 hours before bed, not only will you be preparing yourself for a great night’s sleep you will also be saving electricity!
(4) Find your balance when eating so don’t go to bed too full, and don’t go to bed too hungry. Be warned that diets that are high in sugar and low in fiber tend to affect the quality of sleep, resulting in less deep sleep and more fragmented sleeping during the course of the night.
(5) Keep your bedroom cool so you can cool off your brain quicker, it needs to drop its temperature 2-3 °F in order for sleep to begin (so try keep your room as cold as you can tolerate). Studies have shown that sleeping somewhat naked can help to bring down your core body temperature.
(6) Consider taking a warm bath right before bed, during the bath you will get vasodilation (rosy cheeks, red skin) and all of the blood rushes to the surface. When you get out you will have a massive dump of heat from the body and the core body temp then plummets. If a bath before bed doesn’t work for you sleeping with socks and gloves on may be another alternative in a cold bed.
(7) Make sure you get a minimum of seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Men who only sleep 5-6 hours a night will have a level of testosterone 6-10 years their senior. As we begin getting older our circadian rhythm starts to get blunted and we start to benefit from the nightly use of melatonin for a deeper more balanced sleep.
We believe that sleep is more important than just about anything you can do for your continued wellness and comfort in life. At the Bed Centre we care about the quality of your sleep and always remember we have the bed to fit your lifestyle!
