7 Healthy Sleeping Habits You Must Know

In order to get a good night's sleep, you must develop a few healthy habits. They keep your sleep schedule in check and prevent you from doing things that can disrupt your sleep. 

Here are 7 healthy sleeping habits that you must know and embrace.

Avoid stacking your pillows too high: You will often see people resting their heads on a pile of pillows one stacked on top of another. And while the number of pillows you need can vary from person to person, you should never stack them too high. Keep it simple and limited to 2 pillows max. Make sure that your head is not being rested too high such that your neck and shoulders are feeling stretched.

Maintain a regular sleep cycle: Maintaining a proper sleep schedule is very important. It keeps you properly motivated to do your work and also helps you fall asleep a lot quicker. Besides, in order to get your day-to-day chores done on time, you must develop a habit of sleeping early. Avoid late or all-nighters, as they can not only ruin your sleep schedule but can also distort your mental health. If you find yourself unable to maintain a sleep schedule, you should avoid taking short naps during the day.

Avoid stress and anxiety: Avoiding stress and anxiety is easier said than done. But with a bit of effort, you can keep them at bay while you try to get some sleep. Try using aromatherapy to see if it helps reduce the stress. You can also use weighted blankets, which are also referred to as anxiety blankets, thanks to their ability to reduce anxiety and make you feel comfortable. If your anxiety is causing you too much trouble, or the insomnia is just not going away, you should seek professional help immediately.

Do not exercise right before bed: When you are trying to sleep you need your body to feel relaxed and your muscles to calm down. Your brain activity should also be at a minimum such that you do not have to spend much energy thinking or feeling anxious. But if you work out right before bed, the exact opposite things start to happen. Your heart rate increases, the brain activity also sees a sudden rise, and your body gets heated up. In short, when you exercise, you start feeling more active and less tired. As a result, you might have trouble falling asleep. Hence, it is always a good idea to avoid exercises and workout sessions before bed.

Ensure a noise-free environment: Noise can impact our sleep in many ways. Not only can it keep us awake, but it can also disrupt our brain's ability to generate sleep waves. Too much noise during the night on a regular basis can lead to long-term cases of insomnia and other sleeping disorders. If you want to sleep like a baby during the night, you need to have pin-drop silence in your room. You can ensure this by keeping your doors and windows shut. But if that is not an option or does not work, you can opt for noise-canceling earbuds.

Do not consume too much caffeine: Caffeine is your sleep's worst enemy. While the compound might give you the energy to work through your sleep or any other distress, it can also lead to cases of sleeping disorders. Consuming too much of it will give you insomnia. Consuming it right before bed will cause you to stay awake or wake up frequently during sleep. No matter what you say, caffeine can never be good for your sleep. Avoid consuming drinks that have too much caffeine. Also, try to avoid alcohol and nicotine as well. These two have similar effects to that of caffeine.

Stay away from bright screens in bed: Bright lights will never let you sleep. Professionals always advise us to keep the room as dark as possible. The fact that you are lying on your bed and using your phone does not help either. Exposure to so much screen time while in bed can cause you to become an insomniac. It can disrupt your sleep cycle completely. Besides, keeping your phone on your bed acts as a sort of distraction. You will be tempted to check it again and again when you are unable to fall asleep. Hence, you should keep your phone away when you go to bed.

While following these habits may seem difficult at first, you will get better at them gradually. Just make sure that you are following them regularly.