Have you ever gone to bed tired yet still unable to sleep? Sleep difficulties are very more common these days. Public health data shows that more than one-third of adults across Texas sleep less than the recommended seven hours per night on a regular basis.
Sleep deprivation can greatly affect your cognitive performance and is often the main cause behind many leading diseases known today. In fact, studies show that 24 hours of sleep deprivation can affect your brain similarly to alcohol intoxication. It can dramatically raise your chances of accidents and mistakes.
Because of this, it is important to learn how to get better sleep at night.
Why Sleep Matters More Than You Think
A good sleep is often termed restorative sleep. It means that your body passes through all the stages of sleep without interruption and gets a deep reset.
Healthy sleep means you fall asleep within 20 minutes or so, stay asleep for most of the night, and feel rested when you wake up.
During deep sleep:
- Your brain clears metabolic waste
- Reset the hormones that control appetite and metabolism
- Your immune system strengthens
- Memory and learning consolidate
- Cells repair and regenerate
Studies have shown that chronic sleep deprivation can impact almost every system in your body, including your heart health and metabolism.
8 Science-Backed Ways to Sleep Better at Night
1. Spend More Time in Daylight
Your body operates on a very strong biological timing system called the circadian rhythm. This internal clock tells you when to feel awake and when to feel sleepy.
One of the most interesting aspects of the circadian rhythm is how light plays a major role in controlling it. When sunlight reaches your eyes in the morning, it signals your brain to stop producing melatonin, the sleep hormone, and increases your level of alertness.
A study found that people who received morning sunlight exposure slept earlier and experienced better sleep quality at night. You should try stepping outside within 30–60 minutes of waking up. Try to do this daily.
2. Avoid Blue Light at Night
Just as sunlight will wake you up in the morning, artificial, especially blue light from your screens can trick your body into thinking it’s daylight again. Therefore delays your production of sleep hormone melatonin.
Researchers also found that exposure to blue light before bed can suppress melatonin for hours and significantly delay sleep.
Dimming lights in the evening, avoiding bright screens in the last 60 minutes prior to bedtime, and switching to warm or amber lighting in the evenings can all help your brain understand that it’s time to wind down. These steps may look very basic, but science has proven that they indeed help your brain recognize when it is time to wind down.
3. Follow a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps train your brain to develop a consistent sleep schedule. When you go to bed or wake up at different times than normal, it throws off your internal body clock (circadian rhythm). This can lead to poor quality of sleep as well as a major cause of fatigue and irritability.
According to sleep society, even if you get enough hours of sleep, having an irregular sleep schedule may also lead to poor quality sleep.
4. Avoid Caffeine in the Afternoon
Caffeine is a known as a strong stimulant that works to block the effects of adenosine, a chemical that builds throughout the day and drives people to go to sleep.
Drinking coffee late in the day may not affect your ability to fall asleep, but caffeine can stay active in your system for most of the afternoon and evening.
Studies have also proven that drinking caffeine up to six hours before bedtime greatly reduces the quality of one’s sleep. To receive better sleep, you should avoid caffeine in the afternoon.
You can follow this easy guideline:
- Try to drink caffeinated beverages (coffee, energy drinks, etc.) only in the morning hours.
- Abstain from all caffeinated beverages after early afternoon.
- Drink water, herbal teas, or decaf drinks during the late afternoon hours.
5. Keep Your Blood Sugar Stable at Night
Many times when you are awake between 2 am. and 4 am., you believe you have Insomnia and other sleep problems.. But sometimes you may be experiencing low blood sugar.
When your Blood Sugar gets too low while you sleep, your body will release stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenaline). These hormones can wake you up suddenly.
One study has shown that eating high-sugar foods prior to going to bed increases the number of times you get up during the night.
As functional Medicine Practitioners, we frequently see patients who experience these symptoms only due to skipping dinner, eating extremely late into the evening, or consuming large amounts of high-sugar foods for their evening meal.
It is best to eat balanced evening meals that include protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Examples of good meals would be salmon with vegetables and quinoa or chicken with roasted sweet potatoes.
if you find yourself getting up many nights, eating a small snack (such as a banana with peanut butter, or Yogurt with nuts) before bed is perfect to balance your sugar overnight.
6. Do Some Physical Tasks During the Day
Engaging in regular physical activities is simply the most effective method of improving one’s sleep quality. This is because exercise helps regulate your stress hormones and increase your body’s natural sleep pressure.
If you spend most of the day sitting, your body may not feel physically ready for deep sleep. Studies also confirm that regular exercise helps people fall asleep faster and improves deep sleep.
You do not have to break your back with tough workouts. Walking for 20 minutes after eating, choosing stairs over elevators, doing a few stretches in the evening, light strength training sessions twice a week, etc. are small changes that can go a long way for your sleep.
7. Drink Milk Before Sleeping
A warm glass of milk before bed is a traditional remedy that can be very helpful for sleep. Milk has natural tryptophan, which is an amino acid your body uses to produce serotonin and melatonin. Both of these hormones are responsible for regulating your sleep-wake cycle and signaling to your brain when it is time to go to sleep.
In addition to containing tryptophan, there could be a psychological calming effect associated with drinking warm milk.
If you want to try this habit, simply drink a little bit of warm milk (approximately 30-60 minutes) prior to going to bed. Try to drink the milk slowly and enjoy some quiet activity like reading or writing in a journal. Do not put too much sugar in the milk because it can raise blood your sugar levels throughout the night.
You can further enhance the relaxing nature of warm milk by adding a little bit of cinnamon, turmeric, or cardamom. All three of these herbs have historically been used to relax people and help with digestion.
If you have a lactose intolerance, digestive issues, or just do not like milk, there are other alternatives as well. For example, you can use almond milk, oat milk, or even chamomile tea. Chamomile tea would be an especially good choice since it does not contain caffeine like green tea or Earl Grey.
8. Calm Your Nervous System Before Bed
Don’t go to sleep when your nervous system is still in day mode. Your mind has been checking mail, scrolling social media feeds, and processing stress all night. Then all at once you think it would turn off. It rarely works that way.
Chronic stress raise your cortisol levels and delay your sleep. It has been found that increased evening cortisol is strongly associated with insomnia symptoms.
The best way to do it is to establish a 10-minute evening ritual before sleep. You could sit and breathe slowly, stretch your shoulders and neck, read a couple of pages of a book or write the to-do list of tomorrow so that your brain can relax.
Bottom Line
Every person should know how to sleep better at night. You can prevent most of the issues of poor sleep by knowing the patterns in which your body sleeps and developing new healthy habits.
You can start by following the habits mentioned above and practicing them consistently.
If you are still unable to sleep after following these habits, melatonin supplements can also be used to help control your sleep cycle. In case you decide to take melatonin, buy the same brand every time, as the dosage level and ingredients may differ among brands.
Also, if you snore, choke, or gasp during sleep, don’t ignore it. it could be sleep apnea or some deeper sleep problems.
At Kairos Health & Wellness, Lola, one of our functional nurse practitioners is here to identify the root causes of your sleep problems and guide you toward better restful nights.
if you have questions or need help, you can call us or reach to us today!.