Tips and habits for a good night’s sleep and improving your health

Doctors and scientists have long touted the benefits of sleep for the brain and body. It’s true: sleep is an essential part of maintaining overall well-being. When you are well rested, your mood improves, your stress levels decrease and you generally feel more productive.

In addition to the amount of sleep, research has shown that the quality of your sleep also matters. Although current guidelines recommend that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep, more than a third of Americans don’t meet the minimum. It’s too easy to give in to the overstimulating activities at your fingertips (hello, TikTok) instead of turning off the lights. Minutes of scrolling social media before bed turn into hours, and screens have made it harder to shut off the brain and prepare for a good night’s sleep — ever heard of bedtime procrastination as revenge?

Getting little sleep is associated with an increased risk of chronic health problems such as heart disease and stroke. Sleeping less also puts people at risk for mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. One study found that older adults who get five or fewer hours of sleep are at risk of developing multiple chronic conditions. Additionally, sleep deprivation increases the risk of car accidents that can lead to injury and death. So improving sleep can in turn improve our lives. Even following certain sleep habits can increase your life expectancy, according to one study.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults need at least seven hours of sleep. For people age 65 and older, the CDC recommends between seven and eight hours of sleep each night.

As people get older, it can be more difficult to maintain the quantity and quality of sleep. Age-related brain changes can lead to more nighttime awakenings and a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep. Experts recommend turning off the screens well before lights out, relaxing before bed, and exercising throughout the day.

Establish a relaxation routine: Maintain nighttime habits that give you a sense of calm for 30 minutes to an hour before bed, such as reading, journaling, showering, listening to music, or preparing your clothes for the morning. Relaxation time can also be for simply relaxing, as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends allowing an hour of “quiet time” before going to bed to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm, or natural body clock to keep.

Limit screen time before bed: Limiting the stimulation of screens right before bed can help people fall asleep better. Consider setting a time limit on your screens to signal that the end is near, or put your phone in a drawer so you’re not tempted to check it while you’re in bed.

Avoid heavy meals: Eating a large meal right before bed can make it harder to fall asleep when your body is digesting. What’s more, diets rich in inflammatory foods are associated with worse sleep. Avoid consistently consuming chips, cookies, soda, and fried foods. If you’re craving a late-night snack, consider something anti-inflammatory, with nutrients and fiber to keep you feeling full. Experts recommend:
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Yogurt
- Whole grains

Maintain an optimal sleeping temperature: Sleep experts recommend that your bedroom stay between 68 and 72 degrees. You can also keep your room cool by opening windows, using fans, wearing light clothing or considering a cooling mattress.

Keep the same bed and wake times: Having a consistent schedule alerts your body to the fact that you are tired and then get up around the same time every day and night. To tune in to your body’s natural release of melatonin, turn off the lights within two to three hours after sunset. And going to bed before midnight ensures you spend enough time in deep sleep. A study published this year found that sleep regularity helps predict mortality risk better than sleep duration (if you work nontraditional hours that tend to fluctuate and have trouble with sleep quality, consider talking to a sleep specialist who can help you help provide additional solutions).

Limit alcohol consumption before bed: Although alcohol may seem to help you fall asleep, it does not contribute to adequate sleep quality. Sleep disturbances are a critical indicator of alcohol abuse disorder. While no amount of alcohol is beneficial for health outcomes, national guidelines advise drinkers to limit drinkers to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.

Wake up peacefully: Instead of a blaring alarm tone signaling the start of a busy day, try a progressive sound or a song you like. “You don’t want to start your day with stress,” Dr. James Giordano, professor of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center, previously. Fortune. “Days are stressful enough.”

Monitor coffee: Experts recommend ending caffeine intake six to eight hours before bedtime, although the effects vary from person to person, so trial and error is key.

Give time to worry: It’s impossible to tell our brains to turn off the noise and worry. Wendy Troxel, sleep scientist at the Rand Corporation and author of Sharing the Covers: Every Couple’s Guide to Better Sleep, recommends taking 10 to 15 minutes to worry. Write them down and then literally and figuratively close the cover.

Practice daily mindfulness: Feeling stressed at night is usually due to residual feelings from the day. Practicing mindfulness throughout the day, such as a five- to ten-minute meditation during a lunch break or the 4-7-8 breathing exercise. The best meditation apps can help you get started.

Use gratitude before bed: Thinking about or writing down gratitude can help you feel calm and grateful before you go to bed, allowing you to refocus on the things that are going well for you instead of the things that are going well for you. things that make you feel stressed. What you say to yourself affects how you feel about yourself and your ability to fall asleep.

Don’t be hard on yourself: lying awake in the middle of the night can be torture. But it makes it worse when you get frustrated with yourself for not being able to fall asleep when it feels like everyone is asleep but you. It’s normal not to be able to sleep, especially when you’re overwhelmed. Give yourself grace.

Get more tips for falling asleep when you’re stressed.

If you’re a fan of the siesta, a standard daily practice in Italy and Spain to rest after lunch and before the evening hours arrive, you don’t have to worry. Taking a nap can be helpful to increase rest during the day. However, there is a sweet spot duration that will help you without harming your sleep.

The Romans were on to something, as the afternoon slump seems to roll in like clockwork around 3 p.m. One expert says a successful siesta should last between 15 and 25 minutes to ensure you still get a good night’s sleep. “If we nap for much longer, we can enter deeper stages of sleep that are more difficult to wake from,” Alaina Tiani, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, previously said. Fortune.

Power naps may also be better for brain health and slow brain shrinkage.

Melatonin is our body’s natural hormone that is released when it’s time to go to bed. Taking a melatonin supplement can help change your circadian rhythm and signal your body that it’s time to go to sleep earlier than you might have. Therefore, it can help people sleep earlier and longer.

However, experts recommend between one and five milligrams of melatonin for adults, and many brands sold in pharmacies do not have clear dosage labels.

And furthermore, short-term use has not been associated with complications, but the supplement has not been studied for long-term use in adults.