How to sleep better?

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How to sleep better? Well, you may think it's not a serious subject to know more about. But actually speaking, many of you don't know how to sleep. Your sleep affects your life a lot more. 

What sleep is: Your sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body and it happens through the altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles and reduced interactions with surroundings. Your sleep is nothing but the natural state of rest you have, during which your eyes are closed and you become unconscious and it appears that sometimes some dry substance forms in the corners of your eyes while you are sleeping. 

A chemical process: Actually speaking, your sleep is a chemical process that's 100% needed for your system to function. The hormone by name Melatonin plays a major role and it makes you feel drowsy. The amount of Melatonin in your body starts increasing in the evening and peaks in the middle of the night, informing that it's time for you to sleep. It appears that levels of Cortisol, often called the stress hormone, decreases during the first few hours of your sleep and it's increased after you are awaken. This  process actually helps you feel perky when you wake up and switches on your appetite. Sleep is important for everyone at every age. 

How you are affected: Without enough sleep, your brain and body systems won’t function normally. The importance of Sleep is the same as air and food which your body needs to function at its best. Sleep is your metabolic feature by which your body heals itself and restores its chemical balance and sleep helps the brain forge new thought connections and boosts your memory retention. Sleep deprivation, lack of sleep or Insomnia drains your mental abilities and puts your physical health at real risk. Sometimes, a lack of sleep may trigger headaches and migraines in some of you. Science has linked poor sleep with a number of health problems, from weight gain to a weakened immune system. Studies show that sleeping too little at night increases even the risk of early death. Your central nervous system is the main information highway of your body and sleep is necessary to keep it functioning properly. Sleep deprivation makes your brain exhausted, as a result, it won't function properly. Your ability to learn something new or your concentration is lost if you don't have enough sleep. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents. Your emotional stability and mentality can also be adversely affected by the sleep deprivation. You may feel more impatient or are prone to have mood swings. It can also jeopardize decision-making processes and creativity. If sleep deprivation continues for a long time, you are likely to have hallucinations like seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there and it can also trigger some mania and the psychological risks like impulsive behavior, anxiety, depression, paranoia and even suicidal ideation. 

How to sleep better:  You have to follow the steps below. 

Step 1: The way you sleep: Sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person. As an adult, you need at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at your best. Children need even more hours. You have to accept effective sleeping positions to get enough sleep. Sleeping on the back with knee support or sleeping on the side with a pillow between the knees is good. Sleeping in the fetal position or sleeping on the front with a pillow under your stomach, sleeping on the front with the head facing down or sleeping on the back in a reclined position can also be good. Sleeping on your stomach can reduce snoring but, it's also taxing for your back and neck. Sleeping on your side sometimes can increase the risk of shoulder pain. Whether you're on your left or right side, the corresponding shoulder can collapse into the mattress as well as up towards your neck, creating misalignment and pain. By far the healthiest option for most people, is sleeping on your back and it allows your head, neck, and spine to rest in a neutral position. This means that there's no extra pressure on those areas. But it's up to you to choose the way you feel more comfortable. 

Step 2: What you have to wear:  Wearing loose, dry clothes after a cold or hot shower according to your preference, is always good. Sleeping naked is also recommend as it can help increase your overall sleep quality and it makes you stay cool beneath the covers. When you keep your body colder you improve your calorie-burning abilities. Tight-fitting or sweaty underwear can increase your risk of vaginal/penile yeast infection since yeast tends to grow in warm, moist places. For men, sleeping naked is a great way to keep testicles cool and at an optimal temperature for sperm health. In addition to the above, skin-to-skin contact between adults stimulates the release of Oxytocin, which plays an important role in building attachment between partners. 

Step 3: Pillows: The pillows are also one of the determining factors in terms of how much sleep you get. When you sleep without a pillow, it helps you keep your head flat and you are given much better alignment. But your comfort matters more. Sleeping without a pillow, do more harm than good, if you try to sleep on your back or side, It's good to have pillows which are not deflated. If you use a firm mattress, then a softer pillow is better, because pillow is lying on a firm surface and it needs to adapt to the pressure of the weight of your head when you start sleeping. If you use a softer mattress, then a firmer pillow is recommended as it can keep your head and neck aligned. 

Step 4: What to do if you can't sleep: Don't try to force yourself to sleep. Tossing and turning only makes you upset and anxious. What you have to do is just get up, leave the bedroom, and do something relaxing, such as reading, drinking a cup of herbal tea, listening to some music or taking a bath and now you can see you are getting slipped into sleep slowly. 

Step 5: How to beat sleeplessness or Insomnia: You can do it all by yourself and what you have to do is make your life a little bit more organized and systematic. Try to get up and go to bed at consistent times each day and avoid taking alcohol and stimulants like Nicotine and Caffeine. Alcohol can definitely make disrupted sleep patterns as it adversely affects your normal biochemistry. Limit your unnecessary naps during the day. It is 100% necessary that you have to do your exercise regularly and try to limit unnecessary activities in bed. Do not eat or drink, especially caffeine, right before going to bed and try to make your sleeping environment comfortable. Your sleeping environment matters more and you are supposed to get it optimized. You have to get it customized in such a way that you are not disturbed by any external light or noise, especially noise from traffic, or the sound or artificial light from the internal sources either. Have lighter meals at night and try to have it at least two hours before bed. Reduce the blue light exposure at night as the release of Melatonin inside your body is suppressed by blue light and it makes you less drowsy. You can also have natural Melatonin supplement like Tart cherry juice which is capable of increasing Melatonin, enhancing your tendency to sleep.Try to get yourself exposed to more sunlight and it's going to improve the quality of your sleep...