Don’t worry; you’re not alone. I, too, and a considerable number of women out there suffer the same fate as yours.
According to psychologist and author Michael Breus, “Sleep issues are an epidemic among women today.” There are some nights when I just want to swallow a sleeping pill out of my frustration because I can’t sleep soundly. My body feels tired and my will wants me to hit the sack, but my senses are fully awake. As a result, I only get a little amount of sleep, and this has cost me so much, both in the beauty and personality departments. I have hideous eye bags and a grumpy attitude in the mornings. And at some point, I said to myself: “I badly need my beauty rest! This sleep deprivation has to end!”
So what did I do to finally get that pure, unadulterated beauty rest that I’ve been dying to have for so long?
Cut down on caffeine
I’m a coffee-addict, so cutting down my caffeine intake was a very challenging experience for me, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do for the sake of being beautiful. Caffeine in coffee and other products has been the primary cause of my insomnia and sleep problems.
Studies show that drinking coffee and other caffeinated products can keep you up for twelve hours after drinking it, so having coffee in the afternoons and in the evenings is really not a good idea for improving one’s sleep.
Avoid eating and drinking too much before going to sleep
Avoid eating and drinking too much before going to sleepEating before going to bed can keep your stomach working and digesting and, in turn, keep you up and awake in your bed. The feeling of being too full can give you a lot of discomfort, or even indigestion and heartburn, which won’t help you sleep.
Also, drinking a lot of liquid before bedtime will serve as your ticket to more bathroom trips, thereby interrupting a good night’s sleep.
Make sure your bedroom is conducive to sleeping
Create the right environment for sleeping by having a clean bedroom, soft lighting, comfortable bed, and soft pillows. Most likely, you won’t be lured to sleep if your bed has a lot of books, papers, and other things on it. So make sure that you don’t use your bedroom for studying, working, or watching TV; otherwise, your mind will be too preoccupied on these things, keeping you more alert and awake.
Learn to relax
Having a relaxed mind and body can make you fall asleep easily. You can achieve this either by using calming scents in your room like lavender and chamomile or by playing soothing stress relief sounds or any relaxing music. You can also drink a glass of herbal tea or warm milk to help calm down your nerves and for you to sleep easily.
Not having sound sleep is a matter that must not be taken lightly. Getting our beauty rest is important not only for having a beautiful face but also for our overall health and development. Not having good sleep affects our mood and attitude in the mornings, even for the entire day, and may even cause more stress for us.
So having uninterrupted beauty rest and a good night’s sleep is indeed important because sound sleep is the best and cheapest form of rest and relaxation that we can have.
To ensure that you get the most out of the benefits of sleeping, it’s simply not enough to sleep for the appropriate amount of time based on your activity level when you’re awake.
You also need to make sure that the quality of your sleep is high in order to avoid feeling stressed, fatigued, or tired during the day.
Here are some more of the steps on how to improve the quality of your sleep.
Develop a nighttime routine
Before going to bed, it’s highly advisable to follow a series of steps or habits every single night. This step can be any habit or chore that is relaxing, such as removing your makeup, taking a bath, or even drinking a glass of milk. By following these series of steps, you can program your brain to start shutting down and unwinding from the moment that you do the first step.
This ensures that by the time you finish the last step, your brain is no long over-stimulated and it’s ready to shut down completely during sleep. This also helps your brain start unwinding at a certain time of the day, which will make it easier for you to sleep on cue or according to your schedule.
Don’t drink anything that can keep you awake
Almost all doctors agree that ingesting or using any type of substance that can keep you awake at least three hours before going to bed isn’t advisable. These substances include alcohol, coffee, or anything that has caffeine and nicotine.
This is because even if you fall asleep after ingesting or using them, the quality of your sleep will be significantly lowered since your brain is still stimulated. Hence, your brain won’t be able to fully rest while sleeping. These substances will cause you to periodically wake up during your sleep or make you feel tired once you wake up.
Sleeping even if you’re not too tired should be avoided
While taking short, less than 30-minute naps even if you’re not too tired is acceptable, trying to fall completely asleep even if you’re not too tired is not. This is because doing so will make it harder for your body and brain to completely rest and shut down if you engage in a very strenuous activity. Hence, it’s advisable to avoid sleeping for more than three hours due to boredom or after you’ve eaten.
Taking a nap before you actually sleep should also be avoided
Aside from disrupting your sleep-wake cycle, taking a nap at least 30 minutes before you actually sleep for a longer period of time can also make it harder for you to do so. It can also lessen the quality of your actual sleep since you’re basically sending your brain confusing signals on when to really unwind and shut down.
By following these steps, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of having well-rested sleep. You’ll also be able to avoid certain problems that come with not having restful sleep, such as having a weaker immune system.
