Today I'm taking a break from the crafty posts to talk about something very important: sleep.
Sleep hygiene, also known as sleep habits, is the good habits that you instill in your sleep routine that will help you fall asleep naturally and have more restful sleep when you go to bed each night (I so need this...). Sleep hygiene allows you to prepare yourself for bedtime and the environment in which you sleep.
There is one thing you should know about sleep hygiene or sleep habits, they are not quick fixes that will help you sleep better tonight. These are long-term solutions to sleep problems and they must be given ample time to become effective.
How long is ample time? According to the CDC, it can take several weeks for these good sleep habits to start to have an effect. Common knowledge states that habits take about 21 days to become effective. So give yourself some time to see the results of your new healthy sleep routine.
What is a Good Habit for Better Sleep?
So, what are some good sleep habits that you can start to sleep better each night? Well, one thing that you can try is regular daily exercise. This can be as simple as a brisk 20-minute walk daily to help get your heart rate up.
Walking has many benefits beyond helping you sleep. It can be meditative and help you to reduce stress and anxiety. Reducing stress and anxiety oddly also will help you to sleep better each night but it will also help to add more happiness to your life. If you are less stressed and less anxious you will find that you enjoy the mundane events of your daily life more than you had previously.
Daily moderate exercise isn’t the only thing that you can do to help yourself sleep better at night. There are 11 other habits that you can try to help improve your sleep. In the infographic below by Miami-based mattress store, SleePare, they outline 12 habits (one of which is exercise) that you can use to help you start getting the quality sleep you deserve. Try a few out and let us know what you find.
You don’t have to do all 12 to see an improvement in your sleep. You can try a few of the tips for a few weeks and see if any of them are habits that you’d like to continue. If one tip doesn’t work for you, put that one on the back burner for a bit and try a different tip out. Experiment with your sleep habits to find the ones that work best for you and come back and let us know which one’s worked best and which ones didn’t suit your lifestyle.
If you prefer, you can download the infographic here. Share it with your family and friends and start today improving your sleep habits.
Happy Thursday!
Disclaimer: this post was written in partnership with SleePare. Except for the first image at the top of the post, printables and images were supplied by them and as such are not owned by me.
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