Introduction
Adequate good quality sleep is vital for us to lead a normal, comfortable and healthy life. Good quality sleep (7-9 hours) coupled with regular workout, physical exercise (mindfulness and Yoga), and a healthy and balanced diet are fundamentally linked to our mental and physical well-being.
Sleep deprivation triggers a host of life-threatening and chronic health disorders.
Occasional sleep interruptions are a result of anxiety, physical overexertion, stress or some ongoing health issue.
But when it becomes a routine due to unhealthy lifestyle and bad sleep habits, it leads to persistent problems falling and staying asleep and eventually insomnia.
Regular sleep loss heightens other risks like tragic accidents and can be very frustrating. It affects the way we think, we do our chores and get along with others. Precisely, sleep deficiency impacts our emotional well-being and mental abilities exacerbating any existing underlying health issues.
Common Sleep Deprivation Problems
Consistent sleep deprivation can lead to serious life-threatening diseases like obesity, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases like heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, and even mortality.
Sleep deprivation also affects brain function and cognitive thinking by impairing your attention, level of alertness, and concentration. Sleep deprivation also weakens your decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
These can lead to motor vehicle accidents, accidents at work while using heavy machinery and productivity starts decreasing.
Sleep deprivation can affect your romantic life as well. It can make you mentally and physically tired and you may lose interest and your energy can dip that is required for getting intimate with your partner.
Here are seven tips that should help you to avoid sleep deprivation.
Tips to Avoid Sleep Deprivation Problems
1. Follow the Schedule
You should follow the best sleep schedule to synchronize your circadian rhythm in such a way that you can get 7-9 hours of good quality sleep daily.
You should follow the schedule for your meals and other physical activities as well so that your biological clock stays intact without any added stress.
You should avoid day naps as they can affect your night sleep.
You should follow your sleep schedule religiously every day of the week, even on weekends.
2. Follow a Fixed Bedtime Routine
You should follow a fixed and consistent time to sleep and wake up. Follow good sleep habits that include brushing teeth, little mindfulness before going to bed, washing face, applying a good moisturizer and skin lotion etc. .
Taking bath with warm water has been found very helpful for falling asleep faster and enabling you to have good quality sleep through the night.
You should spend 30-60 minutes in some calming activities like reading your favorite book or a magazine, writing in a journal, or listening to your favorite soothing music before your bedtime.
You should avoid reading a new book or a magazine before bedtime as it can increase your anxiety and your sleep may get ruined.
3. Have a Perfect Sleep Environment.
Your bedroom should only be used for sleep and intimacy.
You should maintain your bedroom neat and clean, and clear of clutter.
You should maintain the temperature of your bedroom to stay cool by setting the thermostat level in the range of 16-19.4°C (60-67°F).
Use dark blinds or thick curtains to keep your sleeping haven dark. This ensures that no outside light creeps in and serves as a sleep disruptor.
You should use a white noise machine to keep unwanted sounds out of your bedroom. A ceiling fan is known to be a good white noise machine.
4. Invest in a Right Mattress
A bad mattress can lead to sleep deprivation as you will suffer from fragmented and restless sleep.
You should invest in the right mattress that is comfortable and can provide good support to your body when you are asleep.
Any medium-firm mattress should support your body perfectly. A right mattress will not allow pressure points to get created when you are asleep and you should wake up fully rested and refreshed.
You should be able to get the right bed at affordable rates as well. You can find more tips and tricks when choosing a mattress here.
5. Reduce Screen time
Electronic devices like TV, mobile phones, laptops, ipads, tablets or even digital clocks emit blue light. This blue light is a culprit for keeping you awake in the night.
Blue light emitted from these gadgets fools your brain into thinking that it is still a day and delays the release of melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, which can ruin your circadian rhythm.
You should find another way of unwinding like, playing an indoor game, reading your favorite book or a magazine, or listening to your favorite music.
6. Meditate (mindfulness and Yoga) and Exercise Regularly
Mindfulness meditation and exercising regularly relaxes our hyperactive mind and aids in sleeping faster and getting good quality sleep through the night.
You should meditate, do mindfulness exercises, exercise, go for walks for improving your sleep health.
Meditation or mindfulness exercises can be done at any time of the day.
You should do any aggressive and intense workout or physical exercise only in the morning and light workout or yoga (deep breathing) in the late afternoon and evening. Heavy exercising in the late afternoon and evening can hurt your sleep health.
7. Watch what you eat and drink
It is important to pay attention to what you eat and drink. Avoid foods and drinks that are a threat to your good night sleep. Following a healthy diet plan should help you to conquer sleep deprivation.
Eat well and timely during the day, but avoid binging on foods that are loaded with unhealthy fats and processed sugars in your dinner.
Also, you should eat your last meal of the day minimum of 2 hours before your bedtime.
You should avoid munching on snacks after dinner as it is bad for your sleep health.
You should avoid caffeine-filled drinks and food as well as sugary drinks late in the afternoon and evenings.
You should limit the intake of alcohol as well. You may feel sleepy at first but it is not good for sleep and you may suffer from fragmented sleep.
Conclusion
According to Sleep Standards, regular loss of sleep or sleep deprivation can create havoc in your daily life in several ways and lead to mental and physical health problems. Sleep deprivation can make you prone to developing serious mental and physical health issues, some may become life-threatening as well. You should follow these tips to avoid sleep deprivation and live a healthy, comfortable and robust life.