We know what you’re thinking: Oh, I’m very aware of sleep. And we get it. We know it’s crucial to our wellbeing, we know we crave it. Yet, despite the annoyance of general grogginess and the fact that too little sleep can negatively affect weight loss efforts, that doesn’t always keep us from getting the hours of Zs that we so desperately need (it’s seven-nine hours, by the way).
“There’s sort of a societal basis to pushing as hard as you can and not getting proper sleep,” Co-Owner and Executive Director of Little Rock-based Sleep Management Services Clint Mickle told our sister publication, Fit Arkansas. “Some people just go ‘I don’t sleep good,’ but there’s more to it. There’s an underlying cause to why you’re not sleeping or, even if you are sleeping, why you’re not feeling restored and refreshed.”
What Mickle is referring to is the estimated 40 million Americans who have some type of sleep disorder, but whether you’re diagnosed or not, the National Sleep Foundation has a few tips for getting your seven to nine hours:
- Stick to a sleep schedule, even on the weekends.
- Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual.
- Avoid naps, especially in the afternoon.
- Exercise daily, even light to moderately, at any time of day other than when you should be sleeping.
- Keep your bedroom cool—between 60 and 67 degrees—and free from noise and light.
- Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. A mattress older than nine or 10 years has outlived its usefulness.
- Manage your circadian rhythms. Avoid bright light in the evening; expose yourself to sunlight in the morning.
- Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and heavy meals in the evening.
- Wind down. Spend the last hour before bed doing a calming activity such as reading.
To learn more about sleep studies, physical repercussions and how to evaluate your risk of sleep apnea, click here and read Fit Arkansas’s wellness feature on sleep.