A lot of providers talk about sleep in the wrong way. Oftentimes they talk about how much sleep you should be getting each night. It’s not uncommon to hear doctors recommend at least eight hours of sleep each night, and while that’s a fine benchmark to aim for, the emphasis shouldn’t be on your sleep duration, but rather your sleep quality.
Like a lot of things in life, quality trumps quantity, and that should be the focus of your sleep health. Getting 6-7 hours of quality sleep is much better for your body than 9-10 hours of tossing and turning in bed. But how can you improve your sleep quality? We share some expert-recommended tips for improving your sleep quality in today’s blog.
How To Get Better Sleep
Improving your sleep quantity is much easier than improving your sleep quality. After all, if you just go to bed earlier and set your alarm later, you can easily be in bed for 9-10 hours a day. However, unless you work to improve your sleep quality, there’s a good chance you’ll still wake up feeling groggy and fatigued. Here’s how you can improve the more important aspect – sleep quality.
- Remove Distractions – Make the bedroom a place where sleep is prioritized. It shouldn’t be a place where you read for 20 minutes before you turn on Netflix and scroll on your phone for a bit before your eyes start to hurt and you finally try to get some sleep. Keep your phone out of arm’s reach and keep your TV off so that sound and light won’t disturb you in the middle of the night. Make your room dark and free from possible sleep disturbances, and you’ll increase your likelihood of falling asleep and staying asleep.
- Enhance Your Circadian Rhythm – Getting quality sleep comes down to helping your body get into a healthy circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm helps you feel more awake during the day and tired at nighttime, giving you the energy to get through the day and the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep at night. One way to naturally boost your circadian rhythm is through red light therapy. We’ve talked about the benefits of red light therapy on the blog in the past, but studies have found that red light therapy can help to naturally regulate our circadian rhythm. Red light therapy can boost cellular function and make it easier for your body to produce melatonin, which is a naturally occurring hormone that regulates sleep and wakefulness. Red light exposure can also help to alleviate pain and inflammation that can serve to make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. Red light therapy has many benefits, and it’s oftentimes a technique we recommend to patients dealing with sleep issues.
- Limit Intake Of Certain Foods And Medications – Be sure to limit your intake of certain substances that can make it harder for you to get in a healthy circadian rhythm. Alcohol and caffeine are two substances that can make it harder for you to achieve quality sleep, so be sure to limit your intake in the hours before bedtime. Additionally, certain medications can make it harder for you to reach a restful sleep, so avoid taking these before bed or talk to your doctor about switching your prescription to something that isn’t as detrimental to your sleep quality.
- Be Active During The Day – Finally, it’s easier for your body to get in a natural flow of wakefulness and time for rest if you are active during the day. Physical activity helps to get your blood pumping and boost oxygen levels to the brain, and it also helps us physically tire our bodies. If we aren’t doing much to challenge our bodies during the day, it may still be longing for activity at night time. Challenge yourself to be active during the waking hours so that your body is ready for bed by the time the sun is set.
Let the team at HyperCharge Clinic help you improve your sleep quality so that you can be more active and energized during the day. To learn more about our process, or to connect with a member of our team, give HyperCharge Clinic a call today at (763) 717-8745.