6 Things You Should Do to Prevent Restless Sleep

As you may have repeatedly heard, sleep deprivation, tossing and turning, and not getting enough sleep is no joke. Poor sleep quality is linked to an increased risk of many serious illnesses and chronic conditions. The harmful effects vary from putting you at risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, all the way to shortening life expectancy. Therefore, getting a solid night's sleep without any troubles is essential to our peace of mind and physical well-being. The reasons behind poor sleep quality differ from one person to the other, so there is no surefire way that would help all cases. However, the first step in this road to recovery definitely starts with perfecting a healthy and comfy sleep environment. Here are six changes you need to consider. 

Not to state the obvious, but your bedroom should be limited to resting. You should always try to keep it this way. Try to always keep your work away from your bedroom; whether you have a lot of work to do that you have to take home or you are essentially working from home, it’s better to create a dedicated space for work in your house. This way, you will be able to keep the bedroom for sleeping and resting only instead of turning it into a high-stress environment. If you are feeling up to the task, other ways you can add a sense of serenity to the bedroom is painting it blue and adding some photos of serene scenes on the walls or your nightstand.

It comes as no surprise that when you are comfortable, you tend to fall asleep faster. Poor quality linen sheets and beddings can easily stand in your way of getting much-needed good nights’ sleep. Specialists at visionbedding.com explain that cotton or silk beddings are perfect for making your bed more comfortable for you to easily drift off to dreamland. Other than fabric choices, it is essential to note that the thread count in your bedding also matters when you are choosing comfy and cozy beddings for your bedroom. However, this factor is quite tricky because you need to keep a sense of balance between choosing sheets with higher thread counts while considering their quality at the same time. 

Many people suffer from poor quality sleep due to anxiety and constant stress. A great way to add a sense of comfort to your space is by using essential oils to promote relaxation and comfort. Lavender is widely recognized for its stress-reducing and anxiety-soothing properties. While inhaling lavender doesn’t solve the problem from its roots, it still helps in soothing our brains to fall asleep faster and prevent tossing and turning.

any scientists have proven that bright white light in the bedroom can affect your ability to fall asleep. White light stimulates the brain and decreases the production rate of melatonin, which is an essential hormone for quality sleep. Therefore, keeping your bedroom free from any bright and white lights is essential to ensure that your melatonin production is stable. Instead, you should resort to yellow light options that imitate natural lights to improve your sleep quality. To tell your brain that it’s time to sleep, make sure to dim any source of lighting before bed with about an hour; you can use blackout curtains and darkening shades to enjoy a peaceful good night's sleep.

How many times have you woken up in the middle of the night sweating or shivering? Temperature plays a huge role in helping us to fall asleep and stay that way. Without setting your thermostat to the right temperature, you would constantly wake up in the middle of the night to cover yourself with an extra layer if it’s cold, or to open a window to let a cold breeze in if you are feeling hot. The ideal temperature for sleep time is believed to be between 60 and 67 degrees, so make sure to set your thermostat before going to sleep to eliminate any disruptions while you are trying to sleep.

The slamming of a car door or kids playing outside your house can really take away from sleeping soundly. In our age, we are constantly falling asleep to TV noises and constant buzzing and beeping from our smartphones. Eliminating noise from the outside is just as important as eradicating any source of noise from the inside. Make sure to add some white noises to mask any noises outside. It is essential as well to set your phone to silent mode and keep it away from you when you are preparing yourself for sleep.

Thanks to the internet, there has been a growing awareness surrounding the importance of sleep. If you think bad mood and grogginess are all there is to the side effects of poor sleep, think again; not getting enough sleep results in serious effects that go way farther than just having a rough day. We must do everything in our power to eradicate the causes of poor sleep quality to lead healthier and happier lives.