Better Sleep, Health, and Results: The Importance of Sleep Quality
How many times per week do you find yourself burning the midnight oil? It could be due to a demanding deadline for work that you need to hit, or you merely got caught up in your favorite Netflix series and found yourself binge-watching until three in the morning. Unfortunately, a lack of sleep and poor sleep quality can be disastrous to your health and productivity. Focusing on better sleep can be the answer to many issues.
In this article, we will look at what poor sleep quality can create, along with ways you can focus on better sleep to not only improve your health but improve many aspects of your life.
So, grab your favorite cup of coffee, and let’s get started!
You’re Not the Only Person Wishing for Better Sleep at Night
Whether you decided to stay up late or found yourself staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep, your sleep quality has taken a nosedive. Instead of getting the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep each night that the CDC has published, you can count the hours on one hand.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
35.2% of all adults in the US have reported getting less than seven hours of sleep on average. When it comes to chronic insomnia, it has been found that between 10-30% of adults find themselves in this demographic. Even more shocking is that between 30-40% of older adults suffer from insomnia.
Ladies, things aren’t looking even worse for you, unfortunately. According to research, women are as much as 40% more likely to suffer from insomnia over their lifetime than men.
What Happens When Your Sleep Quality Suffers?
There are many adverse effects to not focusing on your sleep quality and only finding yourself getting a few hours of sleep each night. Instead of looking for ways to improve sleep quality and get better sleep at night, they mask the issue with stimulants to get them through the day, such as coffee, energy drinks, and anything they can get their hands on that includes a stimulant like caffeine.
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Unfortunately, poor sleep quality can have negative consequences on your health.
Poor sleep quality can cause you to be less productive and energized the following day, which can put you behind the eight ball at work or school, as well as in the gym with your training.
Lack of sleep can also increase stress, which naturally raises cortisol levels (a stress hormone). When high cortisol levels become a chronic occurrence, you may notice you’re hungry more often, eat an excess of calories each day, and food doesn’t satiate you. This is due to a rise in a hunger hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin flips the switch and tells your body that you’re hungry. Another unfortunate side effect of this is that many notice they start storing more body fat and packing on the pounds.
Another study found that poor sleep quality is linked to elevated mental stress levels.
Research has even found that poor sleep can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
So, what can be done to help you get better sleep and improve your overall sleep quality?
What Can You Do to Improve Sleep Quality?
It’s time to help flip the switch and allow you to get better sleep at night. Below are some tips to help you fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality.
1. Make Your Room Dark
Light in your bedroom or that enters your room can stimulate the brain and cause you to stay awake. To get better sleep, ensure that all the lights are turned off in the room and if your blinds don’t completely block out any light that may be coming from lights outside the home penetrating into your bedroom, consider investing in some “blackout blinds.”
2. Turn Down the Temperature
When you’re hot and sweaty, it’s nearly impossible to get comfortable and fall asleep. Another tip to help you get better sleep is to turn down the temperature in your bedroom. This can be accomplished by turning on a fan, opening a window, or turning the temperature down on the thermostat and allowing your A/C to chill things slightly. Keeping your bedroom cool will help ease your body by slightly lowering your body temperature and allowing you to more easily drift off to sleep.
3. Block Out Any Noise
Any type of noise in the home or outside that can be heard in your bedroom can alter your sleep quality. Turn off televisions, music, or anything making a noise loud enough in your home that it can be heard in the bedroom. If the noise is coming from outside, consider closing the windows if they are open and/or investing in a white noise machine that can block out the external sound that can cause sleep issues.
4. Create a Bedtime Routine
Your body is an intelligent machine. If you create a bedtime routine of putting on your sleepwear, brushing your teeth, reading a book, or settling in for the night, your body will get in a rhythm and understand when it’s supposed to shut things down and help you get better sleep. Create your own routine or ritual and stick to it if you truly want to improve your sleep quality.
5. Turn Off Your Devices
Any device that dings, rings, or buzzes can keep you up all night. Notifications coming in from social media, emails, texts, etc., can stimulate your brain and keep you awake. Turn everything off. And honestly, there’s nothing important or worthwhile going on at 2am on social media that you need to pay attention to. Nor is there anything that you can do should an email come in at 3am since no one else would be awake to assist you. Everything can wait until the morning so that you can get some quality sleep.
6. Try a Sleep Aid
If all else fails, try a sleep aid. Sleep aid supplements are incredibly beneficial for those looking to get better sleep and overall sleep quality. If you find the tips above aren’t working and that counting sheep has gotten to the point where the number is so high that you don’t know what number even comes next, a supplement like Holistic Bin Circadian Sleep Aid may be able to save the day (or night).
Holistic Bin Circadian Sleep Aid naturally promotes better sleep and an overall improvement in sleep quality, allowing you to wake up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Crafted using only the highest quality ingredients that are backed by research, Holistic Bin Circadian Sleep Aid could be exactly what you’ve been waiting for to get better sleep at night.
