Many people suffer from a kind of sleep disorder as a result of stress. It can result in different health issues like hypertension, depression, and weight gain. Many factors people undergo during the day have coaction to sleepless nights. The first step to solving sleepless nights is by learning the connection between sleep and stress. The skill to manage stress during the day can help you improve your overall wellness and hopefully help you get better sleep.
This article expounds on how to get better sleep after a stressful day.
Exercise
Exercising earlier in the day is essential for relieving stress and has shown to improve the quality of sleep, especially for insomniacs. Do a morning or afternoon workout routine. You can walk, cycle, jog, swim, or engage in any physical activity that releases both mental and physical tension. The best time to work out for good sleep is at least three hours before bedtime. This timing allows the body to drop in temperature and set the mood for rest.
Make sure you do intense workouts just too close to bedtime. It can cause insomnia. However, if you realize that it doesn’t affect your sleep, you don’t need to make the change. You can also try calming your body by performing yoga poses that stretch out your muscles. The intentional breathing in yoga helps clear your mind by releasing the tension off your body and allowing smooth circulation of blood in the body.
Take a soothing bath.
A pre-bedtime hot bath is relaxing. It makes the body temperature drop, making you feel sleepy naturally. A drop in temperature signals the body to produce melatonin, the sleeping hormone, which notifies the brain that it’s time to sleep. When you are worked-up from the day’s stress, soaking yourself in a hot soothing bath can help relieve stress. The best timing for the shower is at least ninety minutes before going to bed. This timing can help you fall asleep an average of ten minutes quicker than usual.
Besides activating a smooth circulation of blood in the body, the warm water helps tight or sore muscles to relax. A warm bath helps reduce blood pressure, according to reliable research. Reduced blood pressure prevents more severe health issues like a heart attack. Inducing a better flow of blood is also an excellent mini-workout for the body.
Set Up Your Bedroom
A night of good sleep is a direct correlation to a fantastic bedroom environment. With a horrible bedroom condition, expect to have less sleep. Setting up your bedroom, like changing décor can make a huge difference in your sleeping patterns. One of the possible changes you can make in your bedroom is creating a comfortable bed. The easiest and most affordable way to do this is to update your bedding. Bamboo sheets and bamboo pillows are made from natural materials, so are free from allergens and are breathable making them perfect for those hot summer nights.
This point is often overlooked but crucial in helping you catch some sleep even when you are struggling with stress. An excellent way of getting a better night’s sleep is also investing in a comfortable mattress. To find one that offers comfort, you need to search online and compare different brands and their prices before making the purchase. The best mattress provides the right amount of support while alleviating even the most problematic pressure areas. It has a standard of breathability for improved temperature regulation. Experts suggest that setting up a comfortable bed can help train your mind to associate your bed with sleep.
Perfect Your Timing
Committing to a consistent bedtime is a great way to get better sleep after a stressful day. Your mind adapts to your habits. Set a time to go to bed and be consistent with it. Preferably eight hours before the wake-up time. Training your brain to turn off stressful thoughts during this time is also an excellent way to have a better sleep. You can achieve this by keeping an evening journal or using a simple paper to write all your worries then putting them aside to address the following day.
After noting down your stressors, you can try sitting quietly on your bed, clear your mind off the things you wrote, and focus on your breathing pattern. When the thoughts cross your mind, assume them, and try to focus on your breathing once more for a certain amount of time. This timing helps put you in a sleep-friendly state with a clear mind.
Eliminate caffeine and alcohol
If you want to have a quality night’s sleep, avoid taking caffeine or alcohol at least six hours before going to bed. Caffeine is a stimulant in tea, chocolate, and in certain sodas. It causes sleeplessness or insomnia. Caffeine affects your sleeping patterns by blocking the chemicals responsible for inducing sleep in the brain. If you take in drinks rich in caffeine at night, you realize that the heart rate increases. It is because the component increases adrenaline production in the body, which may take many hours to eliminate.
Alcohol is a depressant. Consuming alcohol may initially help you fall asleep. However, higher doses of alcohol may compromise proper sleeping cycles. Alcohol sensitivity varies in people, so it is crucial to watch how much you are consuming and when.
Different factors in the brain and blood impact our sleeping patterns. Sleep quality can be affected by various things, from body temperature to the day’s stressors. The ideas in this article are a high point to start if you are struggling to sleep after a stressful day. If insomnia persists, check in with a doctor for help with strategies for quality sleep.
