With today’s hectic work, school, and family schedules, good sleep can be difficult to come by. That said, going without simply isn’t an option. It may work temporarily in a pinch, but skimping on sleep is untenable in the long term.
To feel rested, you need to spend time in REM sleep. Here are 6 tips to get the deep sleep you crave so you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle your day.
1. Turn Off Your Electronics At Least 30 Minutes Before Bed
Discontinue the use of electronic devices like your tablet or smartphone at least 30 minutes before you want to fall asleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
Instead, wind down with a screenless activity like reading, solving a crossword puzzle, coloring, or meditating. Even with just a half-hour of screen-free time before bed makes it so much easier to fall asleep and you’ll be astounded at how refreshed you feel the following day.
2. Mist Your Sheets With Essential Oils
Essential oils are undiluted extracts from plants. These oils capture the aroma and flavor of the plant, or its “essence.” Essential oils can be produced via steam or water distillation, or mechanical processes like cold pressing. Aromatherapy is a type of alternative medicine that uses essential oils and other plant extracts to enhance health and wellness.
Certain aromas can excite different parts of the brain’s limbic system, which is responsible for emotion regulation, memory, and autonomic processes like blood pressure and heart rate. One of the most commonly used essential oils is lavender as it promotes relaxation, stress relief, and sleep. Mist your sheets and pillows with diluted lavender oil for a deeper night’s sleep.
3. Ditch the Caffeine (At Least By Afternoon)
Sleepiness is the result of a compound called adenosine, a byproduct of the metabolism, that accumulates in the brain while awake. The more time you stay awake, the more adenosine will accumulate and the more tired you will become. However, caffeine directly inhibits the buildup of adenosine, reducing sleepiness and making it more difficult to fall or stay asleep.
Generally, caffeine products should be avoided between four and six hours before bedtime, as this is the amount of time the body takes to process half of your daily caffeine intake. If you are extremely sensitive to caffeine or other stimulants, you may want to avoid it after noon or remove it from your diet entirely.
4. Don’t Nap During the Daytime
Although a Sunday afternoon nap is a prized American tradition, it’s something you want to keep to a minimum. Napping during the day throughout the week can slowly throw off your sleep cycle, and before you know it, you’ll be more tired during the daytime and less tired at night.
Instead, try to stay awake during the afternoon slump by getting up and moving around, exercising, getting a drink or a snack, or going outside to get some fresh air.
5. Try Sleeping On an Organic Mattress
If you struggle to fall or stay asleep due to an itchy, hot, or otherwise uncomfortable mattress, consider switching to an organic mattress. Even if you don’t normally suffer from allergies, the amount of dust, debris, and harmful chemicals contained in a conventional mattress can make sleeping well difficult.
The benefits of sleeping on an organic mattress include but aren’t limited to:
⦁ Hypoallergenic materials that don’t irritate the skin;
⦁ No glue, dyes, synthetic materials, formaldehyde, fillers, pesticides, or other chemicals and additives;
⦁ No Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that can release into the air and reduce indoor air quality or trigger allergic reactions;
⦁ No potentially carcinogenic fire retardants;
⦁ Naturally regulates temperature in both cold and warm weather;
⦁ Naturally wicks moisture away from the body;
⦁ Resistant to dust, mildew, and mold.
If you find that you wake up in the morning with a stuffy or runny nose, itchy eyes, a cough, or aches and pains that weren’t there when you went to bed, your mattress may be doing you more harm than good. Consider purchasing an organic mattress that contains no irritating chemicals or debris that will irritate your skin or lungs.
6. Prioritize Sleep
Sleep is as important as any other appointment on your schedule, if not more so. Although it can be tempting to shave an hour or two off your sleep each week — or even each day — to get a little more done or just have a chance to finally relax, this will eventually catch up to you. Make getting a good night’s sleep a priority and you’ll notice the difference.
Keep being AllDayChic!
