By: Jennifer Scott, Guest Post Writer
A good night’s sleep can be a powerful thing for managing your mental and physical health. But achieving enjoyable sleep can also be a paradox. Many issues that prevent enjoyable sleep are worse by a lack of sleep. If you have ever found yourself in this vicious cycle, you know how stuck it can make you feel. Luckily, starting fresh lifestyle changes can help get you back on track for better sleep.
Exercise Your Way to Better Sleep
Exercise helps you relax, but there are also scientific reasons that it can improve your sleep. Here are some facts to consider.
- Yoga can manage anxiety while also lessening pain and inflammation. Doing a daily session can help you get better sleep.
- Doing cardio an hour or two before bed might help. Exercise releases endorphins and causes your body temperature to rise. Once endorphins wear off and your body temp returns to normal, it may trigger sleepiness.
Reevaluate at Your Diet
Your diet can have a profound effect on how well you sleep at night. Here are a few dietary choices to consider.
- Being well hydrated throughout the day can help you sleep at night. However, drinking too much right before bed can disrupt your sleep.
- It’s best to avoid having any caffeine for at least four to six hours before going to bed.
- Alcohol affects how your brain releases the sleep hormone melatonin might. It makes you sleepy, but it can lead to a foggy head the next day.
- Similarly, excess sugar can wreak havoc on your sleep, as it increases inflammation, causes energy crashes.
- Overall, it’s not just what you eat, but when you eat. Having a meal too close to bedtime can cause heartburn and indigestion, which makes it harder to sleep well.
Practice Nightly Rituals
Exercising and eating well during the day will help set you up for a good night’s sleep. However, having a healthy nighttime ritual is also important.
- Get in the habit of not looking at screens for at least two hours before bed. Studies show that blue light from these devices can disrupt your sleep by suppressing melatonin.
- Drink herbal teas with valerian root like Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer.
- Try going to bed at the same time every night. Not only does consistency make it easier to sleep, it is also better for your mental health.
- Be sure to meditate on your fears and worries with intention during the day so that your mind is less likely to wander to what’s bothering you at night. Connect with Grace Allison, [email protected] for more information and insights into developing your spiritual wisdom. Check out her book, “Do You Have a Dream Workbook 5 Keys to Realize Your Dream”.
If you are having trouble sleeping and managing mental health conditions, there’s hope. The same steps you can take to improve your sleep will benefit your mental health, such as exercising and making healthy diet choices. It is incredibly frustrating when you cannot sleep well, but luckily, there are many ways to change your sleep patterns through lifestyle alone.
- Book Club Mom’s Author Update: News from Grace Blair - February 18, 2024
- Grace Blair, Author – What I am up to now - February 4, 2024
- The Human Hybrid Experiment - January 20, 2024
I do sleep well. It’s the awakening that gets me!