Sleep expert Dr. Mark Swaim has been working with people for many years now helping them to understand the benefits of what a great night’s sleep can offer and helping people to find ways in which they are able to get that solid sleep each night. The dangers of not getting enough sleep are abundant and they can be as mild as mood swings and as serious as causing long standing issues in the brain. It is for this reason why Mark spends so much time reminding people of what good sleep can mean for them, and here is how to go about getting it.
Expectation
The aim here is to sleep every night for between 7 and 9 hours, and those hours should be high quality REM sleep, which is the deep state that the mind enters into when we get high quality sleep.
Routine
The key to getting great sleep is routine, make sure that you are going to bed at the same time each night and that you are waking up at are or less the same time each morning. What you are going to find after just a couple of weeks of doing this is that the brain will recognize when its time to sleep or wake up, and begin to prepare for this prior to the time, this will result in you falling asleep faster and feeling fresher when you wake up.
Food and Drinks
A great rule of thumb here is to only drink water for the final 3 hours before you go to bed. In terms of caffeine you shouldn’t be consuming anything with contents of caffeine within 5 hours of going to sleep or you will have problems. Remember that food is an energy source and the last thing that you need when you are trying to get great sleep is for your body to be occupied with breaking down food, when it should be focused on relaxing and repairing.
Gadgets
The screens on our tablets and our phones wake the brain up when you look at them which is why it is advisable that you avoid any screens like this for the last hour before you go to sleep. So many are guilty of looking at their phones until they go to sleep but if you do this then you are not only restricting your chances of falling asleep, but also of getting high quality sleep when you do drift off.
Light Source
It is not just the screens on our computers and tablets which are keeping us awake but also light sources coming into the bedroom. You may very well be able to drift off but even with your eyes closed you will still be able to sense the light and that can cause the brain to remain on alert, increasing your chances of getting a poor quality sleep. Try as hard as you can to completely black out the room.
These tips can help you to get that great night’s sleep which you have been looking for.