How To Get A Better Night’s Sleep for Men? – 7 simple tricks and more!
We spend about one-third of our lives asleep, so to say it’s important is really an understatement! As important as sleep is though, many people aren’t getting quality sleep at night, with between 50-70 million Americans suffering from some sort of a sleep disorder, according to the CDC.
The average American gets 7 hours of sleep, and that’s just enough to function properly, but only if you add a cup of coffee (or two) in the mix! Not getting enough sleep not only causes you to feel tired throughout the day, but can also cause chronic fatigue and weight gain. If counting sheep isn’t getting the job done for you, here’s 7 tips to help you fall asleep easier!
1. Avoid Blue Light Before Bed
After the sun sets, your body will naturally start releasing hormones to help you fall asleep, such as melatonin. Bright lights, including the blue light emitted from your phone, can disrupt this process and make it harder for you to fall asleep. This may be a contributing factor in rising levels of sleep disorders in America, and around the world.
Ideally you’d turn off all screens about 2 hours before you hit the hay, but in this technologically driven world that isn’t as easy as it seems. If cutting out screens completely isn’t an option for you, try using a blue light filter on your phone. You also might want to think about dimming the lights at your place too, as even normal white light can affect your circadian rhythm.
2. Invest in a Good Mattress
Like I said earlier, you spend about one-third of your life sleeping. That’s about 25 years of your life you spend in bed! That being said, it’s important to invest in a quality mattress for yourself, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive mattress, just one that works best for you. Not only is your mattress important, but your bed sheets and pillow choices as well. Choose something that supports your neck and back, while keeping you comfortable through the night. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better return on investment for your hard-earned cash.
Here’s a great mattress for any type of budget: Classic Brands Cool Gel Memory Foam 8-inch Mattress from Amazon.
3. Don’t Hit the Snooze Button
We’ve all done it, and at the time it seems like a good idea, but hitting the snooze button actually doesn’t help us get more sleep. You see, it all has to do with circadian rhythm and sleep cycles. When you hit the snooze button, you may think you’re falling back into a light sleep, but it could be quite the contrary, and you may actually start a new sleep cycle and wake up feeling groggier as a result. Try to place your alarm clock in a place where you have to physically get up to turn it off, and this may help you avoid hitting that snooze button and starting your day off on the wrong foot!
4. Don’t Go To Sleep Angry
The old anecdote “don’t go to sleep angry” has stood the test of time, and it’s recently been backed up by new scientific research. According to a study conducted by Chinese and American reporters for the journal Nature Communications, getting a good night’s sleep while holding onto a new, bad memory etches it into the brain and makes it harder to shake later on. Harboring those negative feelings can affect your friendships and relationships, making you hang on to negative experiences that people around you may have let go already. Anger is a double-edged sword, and it’s usually better to just let it go.
For more on keeping calm under pressure and motivate yourself when you have no energy, please refer to our other article here.
5. Avoid Caffeine in the Afternoon
Like many others, I like to start my day off with a cup of joe, but what many people don’t realize is how long that caffeine actually stays in your system. We tend to think that after our caffeine intake (in whatever medium that may be) that we have about 3-4 hours of energy before that energy depletes and the caffeine leaves our system. However, the half-life of caffeine is about 4-5 hours, which means that the caffeine actually stays in our system for closer to 8-10 hours. That means that that cup of coffee you drink at 2pm won’t be out of your system until at least 10pm, and probably won’t actually be completely gone from your body until midnight. Consider this the next time you want an energy drink for an afternoon pick me up!
6. Exercise
Guys, you should be exercising anyways, but if you needed some extra incentive then consider the benefits that exercise can have on your sleep. Firstly, exercising can increase your quality of sleep and help you get into that deep restorative sleep. Deep sleep can boost your immune system, control stress levels, and even support cardiac health. Studies have also shown sleep to be a natural remedy for sleep disorders such as insomnia.
So how much should you exercise? Well, to see some real benefits from your physical activity the American Heart Association and National Institutes of Health recommend a total of 150 minutes of exercise per week, so about 30 minutes a day for 5 days.
For more on fitness, read our 8 Physical Exercises for Better Mental Health article.
7. Have A Night Time Routine
A good bedtime routine can give your body the indication it needs to start getting ready to go to sleep. Turn off your computer, TV, close those social media apps, and brush your teeth. Throw on something comfortable and do something relaxing like reading a book until your body tells you it’s time to go to bed. Whatever your routine is, make sure it’s conducive to entering into a relaxed state and getting your body and mind ready to shut down for a few hours.
So there you have it, 7 tips you can use to get to sleep easier, and better yet stay asleep! With something as important as sleep it’s better not to fool around. It may not happen overnight (no pun intended) but if you can add these tips into your life then you’ll certainly see an uptick in the quality of your sleep, and as a result a higher quality of life.
