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With piling work, screaming bosses, complaining spouses or a rapidly-ending Netflix subscription, sleep is a luxury anyone can hardly allocate their limited resources to. However few easy steps while going to the bed makes you wake up next morning feeling energized.
Listed below are six simple hacks and lifestyle changes that will help you go back to being the sleepy-head that you always were!
1. Set a sleep schedule - Whether it's a weekday or a weekend or you have had to sleep late, it is essential to go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same time each day to allow the brain to cycle through the five distinct phases comprising a good night's rest.
2. A comfortable mattress is all you need - Modern day sleep researchers have developed innovative new mattresses that guarantee maximum relaxation even during a short nap to ensure that the user wakes up feeling rejuvenated. It is important to find a mattress that suits your body type and aligns to its contours to help you sleep cozily.
3. Exercise daily or get some physical activity - A body that does not crave rest will not put itself in the sleep mode for a long time. However, intense workout sessions leave your muscles and tissues stretched to the very limit, and they collectively send the signal to the brain that all they need is rest. However, it is not advisable to immediately hit the bed after workouts. Instead, the muscles should be allowed to gradually relax to avoid waking up with any pains or niggles.
4. Dim the lights and let the melatonin flow - In this darkness-deprived modern society, it is important that we dim the lights and avoid going back to the multiple smart screens to ensure good sleep. We need darkness in the evening to allow the release of melatonin that induces sleep. It is especially important to avoid the LED-screens as they emit blue light which induces your brain to falsely believe that it is still daytime, forcing you to remain awake even when you crave rest.
5. Swear to have a bed time ritual - It is also advisable to have a proper sleeping ritual, which may involve cleaning up your desk or keeping the things that you need in the morning in order, just to condition the brain in a Pavlovian way to get the body ready for sleep.
6. Sleep it cool - Sleeping in a temperature that suits you the best is a key ingredient to resting well. The brain and the body need to drop their core temperatures by two to three degrees to initiate good sleep. It is always preferable to have a cooler temperature inside the room as it helps your body to slow down its core functions and control the temperature to enhance the quality of one's sleep.
(With IANS Inputs)
