A healthy lifestyle consists of many factors that may help preserve your physical and mental well-being. Aside from what you eat or how active you are during the day, one of the most important, yet often overlooked aspect is your resting habits. It plays such an important role in your lifestyle and needs to be taken seriously. Lack of sleep is closely tied to unhealthy habits like overconsumption of food, affecting your emotional stability, as well as triggering various illnesses in the long run. Therefore, on this week's journal, we will be shedding some light on the easy steps you can implement to get better sleep every night. Read on!
Prepare a proper room to sleep in
Our country's year-round warm climate may be challenging to live in without the aid of an air conditioner. Most people are unable to sleep in a humid condition. Therefore, most of the time it is very recommended to at least install one fan or air conditioning system in your room to tackle the humidity, unless you are living in a cooler vicinity. Secondly, some people also see the need of having entertainment system installed inside their bedroom, such as television to even gaming console. While this is mostly about convenience, having these items in your room may also hinder your ability to obtain enough sleep at night. Seemingly harmless habits like watching a movie or finishing a level on your favorite game before bed may seem fun enough until it hinders your ability to function during the day because of lack of sleep.
Avoid working and limit smartphone usage
On this day and age, it's almost impossible to live without technology. Distraction is everywhere and disrupting not only your concentration during working hours, but also your bedtime. As mentioned in the point above, it's important to have self-control over these available distractions in your bedroom, including chatting and shopping through your smartphone. However, with working from home being the new norm nowadays, work can also be an excuse to not getting enough sleep. As the mind is occupied with numerous household matters and juggling with work at the same time, productivity levels may not be optimal, as opposed to working in the office. This explains the reason why working hours may stretch long into the night. Therefore, practicing time management and eliminating distraction can be crucial to ensure a good night's rest. While this habit may sound simple, time discipline not only can help you do more things in a period of time, but also prepares you to be more ready to do next-day tasks and invest in your health long-term.
Be active throughout the day
Getting your daily exercise routine is important to maintain a good metabolism and overall health. Moreover, being physically active also has its benefits, including affecting how well you sleep at night. After doing activities the whole day, the body needs to replenish its energy, and one of them is by resting. When you feel physically spent, you will feel more inclined to not do anything else but go to sleep. Therefore, make sure to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. However, don't exercise too close to your bedtime, as this might do the opposite and keep you awake all night.
Don't drink too much water
Frequently hydrating yourself throughout the day is important to make sure you don't get dehydrated in this warm climate, as well as ensuring your body systems are all doing what they are supposed to do. However, it is probably wiser to not drink too much water before you're about to sleep, as you may wake up in the middle of the night to use the toilet. You can drink a sufficient amount of water, however also remember go to the toilet before bedtime, in order to not disrupt your sleep.
Have a warm shower before bed
Lastly, this point may help you relax if you are having a rough day or a hard time at work. When you are stressed, it can overtake your ability to fall asleep and making you more prone to sleeplessness. One of the ways to avoid this, is by having a warm shower. This habit can help ease your tense muscles and mentally relax, in order to be able to have a good night's rest.