Introduction
Sleep is the foundation upon which all types of self-care techniques rest upon. Poor sleep negatively impacts our immune system and lowers the metabolism of the body. It causes people to become short-tempered, sleepy, grumpy, depressed, excessively hungry, and easily agitated.
The simple remedy to all these problems is to follow a good sleep routine. This article tells you more about the significance of quality sleep in self-care and beneficial tips for sound sleep and a healthier future.
What Is Self-Care?
Self-care is not about “indulgence” in things that give you guilt-ridden pleasures. To feel better about yourself doesn’t require owning a fast car, making many friends, or getting several likes and retweets. More than short-term pleasures, it is about long-term happiness and satisfaction. Coming out of the rut requires emphasising the fundamentals in life.
Self-care is about finding what your body and soul need for their nourishment. It is about distracting from outside interference and shifting the focus to the SELF. It requires becoming self-sufficient and capable before you can help those who need you. This realisation and making efforts in this direction will lead you to a happier and healthier life.
It is important to note that taking care of the self is not being selfish or lazy. It is about being the best version of yourself. To stay on the top, you need to build, guard, preserve, and enhance your overall health and wellbeing. Sleep is the basis of self-care. It helps recharge the batteries, improve vitality, and enthusiasm in life.
Why Sleep Is Very Important Aspect Of Self Care?
During sleep, our body performs vital functions that are needed for the sound operation of all its mental and physical faculties. It is when the repair, regeneration, and rejuvenation of cells and tissues in the body occur.
Studies have shown that lack of sound sleep is among the major reasons responsible for sleep disorders like insomnia. It is the cause of several life-threatening ailments and conditions that includes Type 2 diabetes, heart ailments, depression, and obesity.
According to neuroscientists, sleep performs several types of essential functions in the body.
- Sleep provides an opportunity for the brain to self-cleans itself while you rest.
- The mind consolidates patterns and memory during sleep cycles in the night. In the absence of it, it will lose that data and couldn’t remember the things that you learned that day.
- The sleeping mind/unconscious mind connects you to the deeper layers of consciousness/ the self. It enables the mental and physical healing of the body that your conscious mind could not deal with. Due to this reason, sometimes people get answers to their problems and obtain beneficial emotional and spiritual insights about themselves.
Considering the above benefits, if you wish to take good care of the SELF, you should arm yourself with eight hours of peaceful and uninterrupted sleep daily.
Prioritising The Ultimate Self-Care: Sleep
According to the National Sleep Foundation, a person between the age of 26 to 64 years, should get7 to 9 hours of sleep daily, and elderly people who are more than 65years should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night.
Here are some ways to get good sleep:
Make Balanced Sleep Your First Priority
Begin with the intention to make sleep the top health priority. Establish a non-negotiable sleep time that is seven to nine hours. Add half an hour to one hour to it to get into the sleep state. During this time, you can perform self-care practices such as listening to relaxing music, reading, warm water bath, etc.
If you share your room with other people, let them know that you will be protective of the sleep time. This way, your room buddies will support you, and you will stay accountable for your goal.
Make A Good Night Routine
It is beneficial to form a good morning routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time. It will strengthen the natural body clock. Expose to natural light in the day time to suppress melatonin hormone and encourage alertness.
Eat Light At Bedtime
Keep your meals small in size. It is advised to eat foods that are easy to digest, such as soups, salads, etc. Finish off your meals two hours before your sleep time. Avoid the intake of caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes eight hours before reaching the bed. It is beneficial to drink warm milk before you go to sleep. It relaxes the body and helps quickly sink to a sleep state.
Switch Off Light-Emitting Device
Gadgets and devices that emit blue light increase alertness in a person. It delays the secretion of melatonin hormone in the body that makes one sleepy at bedtime. If you want a sound sleep, then you will need to reduce your exposure to these devices.
Avoid screens for an hour before your sleep time. Switch off bright bulbs in the room. You may use dim lights to create a nice ambience.
Maintain a cool Atmosphere
The temperature of the room also matters when it comes to a goodnight’s rest. Studies have shown that a reduction in temperature by 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit helps induce sleep. When your body feels toasty and nice under the covers, it signals the brain to fall asleep.
The room’s cool temperature before you go to bed helps induce quick sleep and promote deep non-REM sleep.
Create A Relaxing Environment
Make the sleeping environment as conducive and pleasant for sleeping as much as possible.
A bedroom environment should be cool, dark, quiet, comfortable, and clutter-free. You can use reading, or music to calm your body and get into the right frame of mind to get a restful sleep.
A nice warm bath helps loosen up and relax the body. Alternatively, you can simply soak your feet in warm water to get relaxation. It causes vasodilation that causes the blood to rush to the skin.
Conclusion
Lack of sleep disturbs the productivity of a person. It is important to protect your sleep and do not allow anyone to interfere with it. These are some of the valuable tips to enhance your mood and sleep. Treat your sleep time with respect. Avoid overstimulation of your mind and take a warm bath to get a good sleep. Sweet dreams!
Good article