`The power of sleep should never be underestimated and the importance of getting a great night’s sleep is huge. Sleeping well helps us to maintain a healthy weight, it keeps us energetic, boosts our immune system and helps us to improve mental health, among other benefits. As you can see, sleep is a powerful human function and one which many don’t realize has such an impact on their life. Getting great night’s sleep is important which is why we spoke to the brilliant Dr. Matt Boente, an expert in sleep mechanics, to find out some tips on how you can ensure that you always get the best sleep possible.
Routine
One of the mots important aspects of getting a great night’s sleep is getting your body and mind into a routine. You’ll find that after just a couple of weeks of going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time, that your body will begin to do it automatically. Start the shut down at the same time each night as well, this will help your brain to change into a state which is required for you to fall asleep easily.
Food and Drink
Much has been said about caffeine consumption and of course you should seek to avoid drinking caffeine late at night, but the same can be said for a lot of other things as well. For example you shouldn’t eat that late at night either, because food is an energy source, and we are not looking to get energetic when we are about to go to sleep. For 4 hours prior to going to bed, the best thing that you can do is only drink water, this will help you to fall asleep easier and get a deeper sleep.
Tech
Try to avoid anything with screen in the hour before you go to bed, phones, tablets and televisions have screens which alert the brain and wake it up, which of course is not what we want when we are trying to sleep. Most E-readers will be just fine as they have different screens which don’t have the same affect on the brain.
Darkness
It is essential that you try to make your room as dark as you possibly can when you are trying to get to sleep, as any light which is coming into the room will also make the brain wake up slightly, and this can affect the depth of sleep which you get. Black out blinds work wonders and you’ll notice the difference as soon as your room is in total darkness.
Finally it is always good practice to read before you go to bed, as this has been proven to have soothing effects on your mind, allowing you to slip off to sleep that little bit easier.
Follow these tips to fall asleep easily, and ensure that you get that high quality REM sleep when you do.
