When the alarm sounds in the morning, do you hop out of bed feeling fully refreshed after an uninterrupted night of peaceful slumber? Or do you groan and hit ‘snooze’ repeatedly until you’re so late that you find yourself running out the door on an empty stomach and clothed in some seriously questionable fashion choices?
For those of us who fall into the second category, you clearly need more sleep. Before your roll your eyes at this painfully obvious statement, take a moment to be pleased that there are lots of things you can do to right the situation. Phew!
A healthy diet and positive lifestyle habits can help you to enjoy a full night of those precious Zzzz’s, so vital to our physical health and mental well-being. Implement some or all of the suggestions below to get in the recommended seven to nine hours of shut-eye every night. Your new regime starts tonight!
– Establish a realistic bedtime and stick to it, even on the weekends. Being consistent reinforces your body’s sleep/wake cycle. If you don’t fall asleep within about 20 minutes, read or listen to soothing music for a while and try again. Repeat as necessary.
– Keep the room temperature between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius by whatever means necessary. If anything, err on the cooler side as a drop in body temperature before bedtime is more likely to trigger sleep onset, increase deep sleep and even facilitate REM (rapid eye movement), the stage of sleep when our muscles relax and we begin to dream.
– Ensure that only subdued lighting, at most, graces your bedroom.
– Set your mobile phone to silent and ban all other screens from your bedroom. Consider giving yourself a screen-free winding-down time before you even get as far as the bedroom door.
– Avoid caffeine and tobacco from mid-afternoon and steer clear of both alcohol and large meals in the hours leading up to bedtime. That said, don’t go to bed hungry either!
– Sip a warm, non-caffeinated drink, e.g., chamomile tea, before bedtime.
– Practice calming activities in the hours leading up to bedtime, such as taking a bath or meditating.
– Get lots of exercise during the day.
– Limit daytime naps to 30 minutes and avoid doing so late in the day.
– Try to resolve your worries or concerns before you go to bed. It might be helpful to jot down what’s on your mind and then symbolically leave your list to one side in another room for the next day.
Incorporate the above steps to tap into the incredible power and pleasure of a truly great night’s sleep. The wondrous effects of a restorative slumber will be felt not only by you but by your entire entourage.
If there are any recruitment matters that you’d like to address during your waking hours, please get in contact with ABL, your trusted recruitment partner!
