Delving deep into sleep hygiene

Sleeping is the body’s way of recharging itself for the next day. When we sleep, our breathing slows down, heart rate reduces, skin cells renew and the muscles relax. A good sleep hygiene consists of practices that enable us to make the most of our sleep and let our brain rest. Sleep also breaks the continued screen exposure and moisturises our eyes. While all these are the direct benefits of a sound sleep, what is it that we can do to ensure it? Not at all complicated and time consuming, the following can constitute adequate sleep hygiene.

FIX YOUR BODY CLOCK

Keeping in mind your professional deliverables and personal engagements, resolve a time for going to bed and waking up. This will help in training your body as to when to expect relaxation and when not.

ENSURE IDEAL TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT

Our body temperature lowers down when we sleep and sheds out warmth. There is a shift of temperature from the time we go to bed and to when we transit into deep sleep. A too cold or too hot room environment can disrupt our sleep by meddling with the body temperature. Maintaining the number from 15-19 degree celsius is considered ideal. 

As far as illumination is concerned, the sleep pattern for a human body was accustomed to the onset of sunrise and sunset, but with the advancement of technology, mankind has acquired the intelligence to prolong the daylight. Thus the natural tendency to fall asleep had reduced. Shutting down of light and electronic devices 30 minutes before going to bed can indicate the body to take to resting by cutting down the entry of light rays.

WEAR COMFORTABLE CLOTHES

While we have already established by now that our body goes through a cycle of rejuvenation while sleeping, any kind of fitting clothes can disrupt range of the motion and breathability, thereby interfering with the relaxation cycle. Natural fabric like cotton is one of the best options for night clothing.

GIVE YOUR STOMACH TIME TO DIGEST FOOD

A good 3 long hours before you tuck yourself in bed are enough for your stomach to digest the food. Like other sleep functions, the metabolism rate of the body too goes down thus making it difficult to breakdown the food and consequently lead to weight gain.

It is entirely on our will power and the desire(need) to lead a healthy life to incorporate such practices in our daily routine. The way we inevitably take steps to financially secure our future through investments, the same way we need to secure our body for our old age. Think about it, it is never too late.