With sufficient and better quality sleep, overall mood and anxiety levels are improved. It is well known that the best quality of sleep, called REM or rapid eye movement, is typically at the end of the sleep cycle. Hence, if you cheat on sleep, you have also denied your body the most restorative part of the sleep cycle.
Here are some tips to carve out 7-8 hours of restful sleep to better manage life:
- Keep a sleep log! Notice the time when you lie down and how long it takes you to fall asleep. Smart phones and watches have great apps to track such patterns.
- Turn off screens! 30-60 minutes before you plan to lie down, turn off devices not being used to track sleep and don’t scroll the night away.
- Mute phone notifications! Turn your phone on “do not disturb” mode so you can have a restful night without interruptions.
- Manage your mind! With lights off, don’t let you mind stray to negative thoughts and feelings. Instead, refocus on something positive from the day and stay with it.
- Practice breathing! Slower or diaphragmatic breathing calms the nervous system and prepares both mind and body for sleep.
- Avoid fortune telling! Replace a thought like: “I will not get to sleep” with “I will get to sleep soon enough and be well rested.”
- Reduce evening snacking! Substances like sugar, alcohol, caffeine, or even a lot of water before bedtime do not promote sleep.
- Ease into the night! As part of your nightly routine, turn off lights, take care of personal needs for the next day and start earlier than usual.
- Review your log and take action! Notice what works and what doesn’t in the log to improve restful sleep patterns. Set a goal for bedtime and stick to it.
Tweaking nighttime routines and getting quality sleep can yield big payoffs! Improved sleep patterns can lift mood, enhance emotional resiliency, and reduce irritability when life happens.