Modern research is telling us something that we’ve known for a long time, that sleep is important. For whatever reason, sacrificing sleep somehow became something of a badge of honor. If you were getting enough sleep at night, then you weren’t training hard enough, working enough hours, or doing enough activities with your kids. Everyone should be tired because that means you’re pushing yourself.
Now, however, we know that’s terrible thinking. When you rob yourself of sleep, you start seeing declines in cognitive performance, immune response, and mood overall. People become cranky, eat poorly, and generally have lower energy levels. Sleep is something we all need, and it’s about time sleep is getting the notice it deserves.
Still, millions of people have a hard time getting good sleep. It’s not just how much sleep you get but also the quality of the sleep you’re getting that determines your health. Here are six ways you can get better sleep starting now.
Step 1 – Exercise
This is so simple but something too many of us overlook. Indeed, it’s hard to start exercising if you’re not in the habit. Those first few days or weeks can be brutal. But exercising before bed is an excellent way to tire your body out and signal that it needs good sleep to recover. No, you don’t have to run for miles. If you’re not in the habit of regularly exercising, you can start with simple evening walks before bed. You’ll feel better and fall asleep faster by breaking a sweat.
Step 2 – Cut Down on the Caffeine
Millions of Americans are walking around addicted to caffeine without even knowing it. We’re so used to being in a stimulated state that we don’t even think much of it. Just try quitting coffee or caffeinated sodas cold turkey. You’re likely to get headaches and feel irritable. Your body is signaling to you that it needs to pick me up. It’s fine to consume caffeine, but if you’re drinking too much before bed, you’re going to be tossing and turning in the sheets. This is especially true the older that you get. Try cutting down on caffeine intake after lunch and see how it affects your sleep quality.
Step 3 – Turn Off the Phone
Now, we’re used to checking social media or responding to work emails at all hours. Somehow working from home has turned into working around the clock. However, looking at small screens strains your eyes, and the stimulus from your computer keeps your brain activity too high when it needs to be shutting down for bedtime. Give yourself a couple of hours before bed to relax, wind down, read a book, or do other things that will help you get to sleep faster.
Step 4 – Eat an Earlier Dinner
Are you eating very late into the evenings? If you do, your body still has to work to digest everything you’ve eaten. This makes it harder to fall asleep. You get the energy boost of eating food before bed, and your body still has to break it down. If you find you’re not getting good quality sleep, try eating earlier and don’t eat right before bed.
Step 5 – Peptides & Sleep Quality
Sermorelin has shown in tests on animal models to improve sleep cycles. It does so by regulating orexin signaling. Orexin is a potent regulator of sleep produced in neurons in the brain. When orexin isn’t working the right way, or there’s not enough of it, it prevents quality sleep because it disrupts sleep cycles. Sleep is vital to health, and research shows that optimal sleep has endocrine, immune, cardiovascular, and nervous system benefits. Sermorelin Peptide helps regulate orexin secretion and has been shown in tests done in animal models to help maintain healthy sleep cycles.
Step 6 – Establish a Routine
Your body adapts to the habits you create. If you make a routine before bed, like watching a show or sitting in bed reading before bedtime, then your body takes the hint and starts to wind down. Do the same things every day before bed, and your body will respond quickly, and you’ll start noticing that you’re sleeping better.