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How to Create a Fun and Healthy Sleep Routine

A healthy sleep cycle is key to great long-term health. It helps reduce the prevalence of certain conditions, and allows the body to rejuvenate. During a healthy and complete sleep cycle, your body releases growth hormones that regenerate your body. Your brain uses this time to consolidate memory, as well as grab a rest. When you are deprived of sleep, these processes will be thrown out of balance.

Over time, you will increase your risk for certain conditions. People who spend few hours sleeping face a higher risk of heart ailments, stroke, diabetes and obesity. They are also more prone to mood disorders. Other effects of lack of sleep include significantly slower responsiveness and declining cognitive function.

Creating and sticking to a regular sleeping cycle can help you earn the benefits of sleep. We explore how you can do this, as well as why a healthy routine is an ideal fit for your needs.

sleep routine

What are the Benefits of Getting the Recommended Amount of Sleep?

Sleep is crucial to your body and brain’s rest and rejuvenation. These are some of the benefits you could stand to gain from enjoying a full night’s rest.

A healthy cycle leads to healthier skin. A full night’s rest minimizes the release of a stress hormone which acts on the enzyme responsible for its elasticity and appearance.

Sleeping well leads to better memory and cognitive function. During deep sleep, your brain is able to process and store memory. Better sleep also enhances reasoning and judgment.

A full night’s rest will lead to better mood, which may improve your relationship with your family.

Sleeping well reduces the risk of obesity. For starters, people who get enough sleep are less likely to be rash and impulsive. A balanced sleep schedule also supports a balanced dietary plan, which reduces the risk of impulse eating.

Sleep improves alertness and responsiveness, which may come in handy for certain tasks. Failing to get enough sleep will affect your reflexes, which could increase the risk of harm and injury in certain everyday situations, such as driving.

sleep routine

Are There Any Risks Involved with Oversleeping?

While it may seem harmless, getting too much sleep might be bad for your body. Oversleeping increases the risk of mood disorders and other ailments, and may have serious consequences in the long term. You need to maintain a balanced sleep cycle in order to gain the benefits of sleep, which means staying within your recommended limits. Similarly, to lack of sleep, too much sleep may cause hormonal imbalances that will affect brain and body function.

Oversleeping has been linked with prevalence in depression and anxiety. It could also affect productivity and alertness levels. By sleeping in for longer than you should, your reflexes will become less responsive and wear out. This may raise the risk of accidents when driving or in certain work environments. Over time, your cognitive function may be affected by too much sleep, leading to poor judgment and memory loss.

How Can You Create and Stick to a Healthy Schedule?

So, how do you make and stick to a sleep schedule? While planning to sleep may be easy, doing it regularly will be hard at first. These tips should help make it fun and slightly easier for you.

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Involve Your family

If you live with your family, getting the right amount of sleep can be challenging. But your family members need sleep too, and doing it together works to improve the likelihood of success. You could develop a sleep chart and plan for more family time after dinner. The health benefits for everyone involved could be immense, and you may end up creating better bonds with your family.

sleep routine

Use Your Phone for Good

Your mobile phone has made it harder to sleep, even if you have not noticed it. The device, like your computer and television screen, emits blue light which affects your brain’s perception of time. We recommend cutting out all phone use altogether, but there are a few virtual tools that will come in handy.

Instead of surfing the web or texting, you should consider sleep apps to help make your night more comfortable. These apps are available with a range of features, designed to enhance the quality of your night.

Avoid Alcohol and Sleeping Pills

You should keep off any alcoholic beverages, stimulants and sleeping pills a few hours before bed. Taking this right before bed will affect the quality and length of your sleep, which may impact your healthy cycle. You can still have alcoholic beverages at any part of your day, but limiting these to well before your bed time will be key to committing to your schedule.

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Change Your Mattress

Your mattress is crucial to a great night’s rest. If you have an uncomfortable unit, you may often wake up in the middle of the night. Such mattresses may cause pain and distress on your back, neck or shoulders. You should change your mattress consistently to avoid the effects of wear and tear. Mattress shopping is pretty straightforward, with plenty of high-quality heavy-duty options. Brands such as Mattress Direct will deliver a great experience every night.

Keep Your Sleeping Area Sacred

Sleeping right will be tough without setting the right mindset. You can do this by making your sleeping space special. You should minimize any activity around your sleeping environment to help the brain create positive sleep associations. Avoid working, watching television or reading in your sleeping area to help improve your ability to fall and stay asleep in your bedroom.

Final Word

Spending too much or too little time sleeping will have serious consequences for your health. You need to develop a sleep cycle to make sure you enjoy the recommended amount of sleep consistently; Sleep deprivation and oversleeping may cause mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. An imbalanced sleep cycle will have an effect on your health, and may increase the risk of certain conditions and even death. Sleeping on time every night and staying asleep for your full cycle can be challenging. You may increase your ability to commit to a healthy cycle by involving your family and using available technology to help you out.


Read More:

8 proven ways to sleep better at night 
Improve your well being with the right habits
Psychology of dreams and its interpretation
5 natural ways to strengthen your mind 

 

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