Sleeping is an essential part of our daily lives. When we sleep our body performs various functions that help us to regain energy and feel reinvigorated. The brain uses the time we sleep to organize the information and experiences we went through during the day.

Sleeping is therefore fundamental for our well being. On average we need to sleep 8 hours daily. This varies slightly from person to person, but anything less than 6 hours is asking for trouble.

When you lack sleep, your body will release chemicals that increase your level of stress. This will make you more irritable and nervous. The slightest problem during the day will further heighten your stress level, making you more nervous. This is very unhealthy, and could lead to accidents, heart disease and death if uncontrolled.

Falling asleep sometimes is not easy, especially when we have something that is worrying us, for example, financial trouble, relationship problems, or pending work. Not all of these external factors can be controlled, but if you lose sleep you won’t solve anything and the next day you will feel more tired and stressed, further complicating matters.

When you lack sleep you will feel physically tired, and your mind will feel slow, and unable to concentrate and think clearly.

With this in mind, you might want to try the following tips to help you fall asleep easily and sleep better. This will help you live a healthier life.

A comfortable pillow and mattress are essential.Make sure that your pillow and mattress are comfortable, since you will be spending roughly a third of your life sleeping on it. Buy an orthopaedic pillow and mattress. They do cost more, but you will not regret it. Your body will rest better and your spinal cord and neck will feel better too.

Set a nice cool, dark, and quiet environment where to sleep.

The room in which you sleep must have the right environment. To sleep comfortably, the room temperature needs to be cool. All light must be eliminated to make the room dark. If external light comes through your windows, such as street lights, hang some heavy curtains so that when you want to sleep you can easily shut out the light. Sleeping in a dark room is crucial, since the brain releases a chemical (melatonin) only in the dark. This chemical helps you to sleep naturally. It is very important that the room is as quiet as possible. Once again, if environmental sound is a concern, change your window panes to double glazing. These will not only block external sounds; it also makes energy sense since double glazing insulates your room from external temperature changes. A less expensive alternative are ear plugs, but then you won’t hear anything, so it is less than ideal.

Always go to sleep and wake up at the same time.

Just as it is important to eat at the same time, it is also important to train your body to go to sleep at the same time. When you repeat something day in, day out at the same time, you form a habit. In this case it is a positive healthy habit, going to sleep.

Routine before bedtime.

Further to the previous point, routines help form habits. Therefore, perform a relaxing routine each day before going to sleep to habituate your body. This could be taking a shower, reading a book or listening to some relaxing music. As soon as you start the routine your mind will signal to your body that it is time to sleep. You will notice that falling asleep will become as easy as pie.

Do not exercise before sleeping.

Although exercising your body is good for your health and will make you feel tired and sleep better, you should not exercise late in the evening. Why? Because this will stimulate your body which will make you feel energized, and thus you will find it hard to fall asleep. That is why it makes sense to start off your day with cardiovascular training such as jogging, because it will boost your energy levels and help you throughout the day.

Do not eat or drink a lot before sleeping.

Your last meal for the day should be a light one, and it is best if you eat it at least 2 hours before bedtime. If you suffer from heartburn, avoid spicy and fatty foods. If you just cannot avoid it, take an antacid to control the acid in your stomach. Heartburn disrupts your sleep. Since you want to avoid waking up in the middle of the night for frequent trips to the bathroom, do not drink a lot before sleeping.

Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulants in the evening.

Actually, it would be better if you avoided caffeine, nicotine and stimulants completely. If that right now feels impossible, at least avoid them during the evening since stimulants keep you awake. If you drink coffee or take other stimulants to spend the night studying or finishing tasks, I suggest you check out future blog posts on FruitfulTime, since you need to improve your time management skills.
Do not read or watch TV in bed.

When you go to sleep in bed, do not perform activities that send mixed signals to your brain, such as reading, and watching TV. Since the mind learns a lot by association, you must train your mind to associate your bed with sleeping.

Only go to sleep when you are feeling really tired.

Go to sleep when you feel very tired. If you spend more than 20 minutes in bed and you do not manage to fall asleep, do not worry. Get out of bed and do something else, such as reading. Do an activity until you can barely hold your eyes open. Then return to bed, close your eyes and sleep.

Eat well, and exercise regularly during the day.

Eating a moderate, balanced, healthy diet combined with regular exercise will help you sleep easily and better. In today’s world, most of us spend a lot of time sitting in offices. After a day’s work our minds are very tired, but our body isn’t. So when we go to sleep we do not manage to, and when we do, the next day our muscles feel sore. If you set aside at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily, such as brisk walking or jogging, will work wonders on you to sleep better.