7 Tips for a Good Night's Sleep!

Contemporary lifestyle with its stresses and unhealthy lifestyles at home or office can affect your ability to sleep. While some resort to sleeping tablets to get sleep, it's not a healthy way. Sleeping medications can lead to dependence (addiction) and other side-effects. 

Getting adequate sleep is essential for our well-being. It restores our body and refreshes our mind. With a good night's sleep, we are ready to face another day!

Here are 7 rules you can follow to get a good night's sleep:

1. Set a 7 days-a-week schedule

Fix a time to go to bed and a time to wake up. Follow that through for every day, including weekends and holidays. Eight hours duration for sleep is a good amount to start. As you go along, you'll find that either you need less or more. Make the adjustment.

Soon, your body will adapt to the routine and you'll find that physically and mentally you're tuned to get a good night's sleep - every day. No alarm needed!

2. Cut caffeine after 4 pm 

Caffeine (tea and coffee) makes you alert. Avoid caffeine beverages in the afternoon and evening. Stick to water or juice. 

3. Dim your devices

Are you one of those people who checks your mail and Facebook before sleeping? Our phones emit light that triggers sleeplessness. Avoid electronic gadgets at least one hour before sleep time - reading a book is a better option. 

4. Don’t sleep in

When it's time to wake up, GET UP. Jump out of bed on time - this will aid your sleep in the night. 

5. Snooze strategically

A mid-day nap is sometimes good for optimising alertness, productivity, and creativity. It's called a 'power nap' for good reason!

6. Be physically activity

People who engage in physical activity, even mild exercise, sleep easier and better. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, go fetch your glass of water instead of asking for it to be brought to you - small activities like these help you to get physically active.

7. Get mentally prepared for sleep

Prepare yourself for sleep by thinking about sleep before going to bed. Start the preparation an hour or so before your sleep time. By the time you hit your bed, you're mentally ready to go to sleep!  

Remember, sleep is very important for our well-being. It keeps us healthy, alert, emotionally stable, productive and positive. Recent research has indicated that lack of sleep even makes usage early.

So get your sound sleep - good night!