Welcome to part II of our four-part blog special. Over the next couple of weeks, we’re giving forty winks in the form of forty sleep tips for better sleep. In part I we looked at sleep tips for older adults and, here in part II we’ve got ten tips to improve our sleep as adults.
Ten sleep tips for adults
As grown adults we may not think we need to be told how to sleep – and maybe you don’t. But, if your sleep isn’t giving you what you need, actually maybe you do. Being an adult also brings with it a fair number of stresses – work, parenting, caring responsibilities not to mention worries to do with relationships or any number of sources. The best way we can manage all that’s on our plates – and to preserve our physical and mental health throughout – is to sleep.
- Establish a bedtime routine. If you don’t have one already, this has to be point one. A bedtime routine isn’t just for children but, for all the same reasons as to why it’s so important for kids, it’s valuable to adults too. Having a regular bedtime routine gives your body cues it’s time to sleep and, ipso facto, helps your body respond to those cues by going to sleep – yes it can be that simple!
- Dim the lights. Bright lights suppress the release of sleep hormones and send cues to your brain that it’s still daytime and ‘being busy’ time. Dim the lights during the evening and let your body’s natural sleep settings kick in.
- Eat well, sleep well. Our bodies are machines and, as well as needing time to recharge, they need good fuel. Eating a nutritionally balanced diet helps our bodies function better in every sense – including in how we sleep.
- Nightcap nonsense. Don’t be fooled into the popular myth that alcohol helps you sleep. Alcohol interferes with the normal architecture of your sleep stages, taking you more quickly into a deeper sleep phase but therein shortening your sleep cycle leading to a more disturbance throughout the night.
- Relax. Our modern lives can be relaxation deprived, with devices always in hand, we make the most of every moment to keep on top of tasks. If we want to sleep well which, in turn, will enable us to manage our busy days…we must make time for our bodies and minds to relax.
- Avoid stimulants near bedtime. Caffeine, sugar, artificial sweeteners and nicotine all elevate our levels of alertness, working against your body’s circadian rhythm and your efforts to wind down of an evening.
- Keep cover. Your window coverings in your bedroom are more important than in any other room – avoid sleep disturbance from streetlights, vehicle lights and the changing seasonal light by using suitable blackout curtains or blinds.
- Be active. Rest comes more easily to us at nighttime if we’ve been active during the day. Sedentary lifestyles can lead to us feeling more weary all day, increase your daytime energy levels and increase your need for rest at bedtime with exercise.
- Size matters. We’re a bigger nation these days in more ways than one and, consequently, we need more space in bed. If you’re especially tall or plus-sized, buying a bed that has sufficient sleeping space for your needs is key to enjoying better sleep.
- Comfort first, It stands to reason that if we want to sleep well, we need to give our bodies a comfortable and well-made bed to sleep on.
#perfectsleep is desirable whatever our age and stage. Sleep well and feel well with a handmade pocket sprung bed from Millbrook Beds.