Sleep is crucial for both mental and physical health. People usually think that getting a good diet and exercise is all that matters for good health, but this is not true. Sleep is equally if not more important than exercise and proper diet. This is why health experts recommend that one take a good amount of sleep to maintain good health and enjoy an active lifestyle.

This article will discuss some tips that can help you sleep better at night. Still, before that, we would like you to know some of the expected consequences of sleep deprivation. Reading about these effects would surely help you understand why sleeping at night is important.

Surprising and Serious effects of sleep loss

Sleep deprivation has bad effects on your life, and some of them have been discussed below for your knowledge.

Sleep loss can cause accidents

You would be surprised to know that the biggest road accidents happen because of sleep deprivation. If you are not getting proper sleep at night, it will make you drowsy. Drowsiness on the roads leads to major road accidents. You can consider a drowsy person the same as a drunk one. There are dozens of studies that have shown that lack of sleep leads to poor driving, accidents, injuries, and even death in the worst-case scenario.

Lack of sleep can make you dumb

You must know that sleep plays an important role in making your mind healthy. It improves your thinking and learning skills. Subsequently, lack of sleep can damage your cognitive abilities. It can badly affect your attention, concentration, learning, alertness, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. In simple words, lack of sleep can turn you into a dumb person. You would not function properly if you didn’t take proper sleep.

Lack of sleep leads to serious health problems

Not sleeping at night can lead to serious health issues. You must never take sleep loss lightly. It can lead to heart diseases (including heart attack), heart failure, irregular blood pressure, stroke, panic attacks, and diabetes. According to studies, sleep deprivation can ruin your mental and physical health.

Lack of sleep results in low sex drive

If you are not taking at least eight hours of sleep at night, it will kill your sex drive. You should know that people deprived of sleep would always have a lower sex drive and energy. Low sex drive can result in depleted energy, increased tension and anxiety.

Lack of sleep can be stressful and depressing

If you are not taking a good night’s sleep, your life will be stressful over time. You would be surprised to know that six out of ten people going through stress and depression are the ones who sleep less than six hours. Sleeping at least six hours at night is important for a calm mind.

Lack of sleep makes your wrinkly

If you are not taking proper sleep at night, it will age your skin over time. If you make not sleeping at night a habit, it will age your skin and make your eyes sore and puffy. Common skin diseases because of sleep deprivation would include fine lines, lackluster and dark circles. Sleep loss can also damage your muscles and make your skin thin. Taking proper sleep at night can help your body recover from all the work you have done in the daytime.

Lack of sleep can result in weight gain

Sleeping well can help you lose extra weight from your body. Not sleeping would increase your hunger drive and appetite, which is not good for your health. This would make you obese, and according to recent statistics, more than 60% of obese people in America are the ones who don’t take six hours of sleep at night. People who sleep at least seven to nine hours would always have a regular appetite and ideal body weight.

Lack of sleep increases the risk of death

A study was made in Great Britain in 2007, which showed that lack of sleep increased the risk of death in both young and old people. People who take less than six hours of sleep at night would be more likely to get into deadly diseases and die. People who slept more had lower risks of deadly diseases.

Now that you know about the worst consequences of not taking proper sleep, you will be wondering how you can improve your sleep routine, especially if you are an insomniac. Well, not to worry, in the next section, we are going to tell you all about the best ways to get proper sleep at night.

Best Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

These tips would surely help you improve your sleep cycle:

Set a regular sleep cycle

It doesn’t matter if you are taking even ten hours of sleep if it is uninterrupted. If you have no sleep routine, then it is going to damage your mental health, to say the least. This is why experts recommend that you should have a regular sleep pattern. You must try to go to bed early at night and wake up early in the morning. Sleeping and waking up at the same time every day would improve your health. Improving your sleeping habits is going to help you get rid of sleep deprivation.

Don’t spend all your day in bed

As an adult, it is important for you to know that you need to spend the right amount of time in your bed. Spending seven to nine hours is ideal for an adult, and you should not stay in bed more than that. Staying in bed at all times would make you a poor sleeper. So spend the right amount of time in bed.

Your bed is for sleeping, not an entertainment center

Here an important thing that you need to understand is that your bed is your resting place and is not the place for having fun. Using smartphones, tablets and laptops in bed should be condemned. It would be best if you turned off all electronic devices nearby you. You should also shut down your room TV for a night of better sleep. You have to tell your mind that it is time to sleep instead of spending countless time on social media.

Read a book before sleeping

If you can’t sleep right away, then instead of using social media on your mobile, you can read a book. Reading a book would make your mind tired and would help you sleep better. Today reading books has become very easy as you can easily download them on your phone or tablet in PDF format. Now you can not only download your favorite book but also divide the pages that you want to read in one night. You can save each page as a separate PDF for better management. By splitting the book, you can also specify your reading time before sleeping. If you don’t want to read, then you can also listen to an audiobook.

Ensure that your bedroom is comfortable – turn the lights down

To get better sleep at night, you need to ensure that your room is comfortable. If your room is not comfortable, then it is going to disturb your sleep routine. Your room should be dark and quiet at the time of your sleep. Make sure that your bedding is comfy and also the temperature of the room is right. All of these things would help you improve your sleep cycle and would definitely boost your mental and physical health.

Avoid all kinds of caffeine intake

One of the common reasons behind sleep deprivation is an excessive intake of caffeine and nicotine. You must avoid smoking, drinking and taking caffeine. Tea, coffee, fizzy drinks, beer all include caffeine, and so you should make sure that you avoid in-take before sleeping. Caffeine, smoking and drinking would not only ruin your sleep cycle but would also damage your health.

Listen to sleep sounds

If you are unable to sleep at night, then you can take help from sleep sound apps. These applications are home to dozens of soundtracks that can relax the mind and can induce sleep. You just need to play your favorite sound and doze off. You can set a timer for the sleep sound apps to go off if you don’t want to play the sounds all night.

Exercise during the daytime

Exercise is one of the most important things that can help you improve your sleep cycle. You can sleep well at night if you exercise during day time. Exercise exhausts your body, but it improves your mood. If you want to sleep soundly at night, then you should go for at least a walk, three hours before you go to bed.

End words

In this article, we have discussed some of the best tips to increase your sleep routine. A better sleep routine would help you live a happy and healthy life which is why we would urge you to follow these tips. If you still can’t sleep at night, then you might need professional help. Lack of sleep can be caused by long-term stress and persistent problems with your moods. To solve these kinds of problems you would have to see your doctor!

Credits to the reference sources:

SleepFoundation.org.au (https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/tips-for-a-good-night-s-sleep.html)

Mhm.org.uk (https://www.mhm.org.uk/blog/29-tips-for-better-sleep)

Webmd.com (https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/10-results-sleep-loss)