Studies show that sleep deprivation is directly related to a decrease in the diversity of your gut microbiome. Ensuring that you are getting good quality sleep is essential for overall health, including gut health and hormone health.
Sleep Tips You Can Implement Tonight
Avoid caffeine after 12pm
Caffeine is obviously a stimulant, so it will affect your sleep. It’s best to stop drinking it after 12pm if you want to improve your sleep.
Go to bed at the same time every night
This creates a good schedule for your body and your body will begin to know when it needs to release melatonin to make you sleepy.
Try to get up at the same time every day, or at least within an hour of your normal waking time
This prevents you from messing up your circadian rhythm. Studies show that under-sleeping AND oversleeping can negatively affect your health. (7-9 hours of sleep applies to those between 18-64 years old – sleep needs are different for those out of that age bracket).
Reduce exposure to blue lights, especially the last hour before you go to bed
Blue light messes with your body’s ability to prepare for sleep because it blocks a hormone called melatonin that makes you sleepy.
Exercise
Being active during the day tires you out in a good way. Even if you only exercise for 15 minutes, you’re going to improve a lot about your health. Exercise can increase sleep quality by reducing sleep onset (the time it takes to fall asleep), will help you stay asleep without waking, and if you do wake then the exercise will help decrease the amount of time you lie awake in bed during the night. Exercise helps the body balance out energy levels and circadian rhythm.
Eat a balanced dinner
Eating a balanced meal with healthy fats, protein, and carbohydrates will satiate your body (so you don’t wake up in the middle of the night due to blood sugar issues) and provide lots of good minerals you need that will support good sleep.
Have a bedtime routine to help you wind down
Bedtime routines not only help you relax, but when you do the same thing before bed every night, your body learns to associate that routine with sleep. Therefore, by the time you get into bed after following through your nightly routine, your body is able to slip into sleep faster. Be sure it’s a calming routine that promotes sleepiness – reduce the light in your home and no scrolling on your phone while going through your routine.
Set your alarms and put your phone on “Do Not Disturb”
Do this before you begin your bedtime routine. This way, you don’t have to look at your phone again until the next day! Decreasing the blue light and not scrolling on your phone (wasting away time) will help you sleep better right off the bat.
Sleep in a cool bedroom.
Getting too hot in your sleep will wake you up, give you weird dreams, and not allow you to fall into as deep of a slumber in general. Keeping your bedroom cool will help you get deeper and higher quality sleep. There’s no magic temperature here, though – it’s whatever feels cool for you. And this doesn’t mean cold – it just means you can snuggle up in bed without overheating in the middle of the night. You may need to find the right balance for you personally. If you really struggle with overheating in your sleep, then try using cooling bed sheets to see if that helps (it changed my life when I started using them!). These are my favorite. They cost a pretty penny but I promise they are worth it!
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