Have you ever wondered how to wake up fresh and ready to crush your day?
Why do we sleep?
Science hasn’t quite put its finger directly on a reason here, but there are several theories that exist to answer this question.
The truth most likely lies in a combination of the following:
- Mental recovery – this is the moment where our brains recover.
- Physical recovery – when we sleep our bodies recover and rebuild or build new tissue (for example muscles).
- Reorganize memories and information that we accumulated during the day.
- We save energy – when we sleep we need less energy.
If you are not convinced yet, whether to take these important 8 hours of sleep, here’s more…
What happens if we don’t sleep enough?
To answer this question we have to examine the consequences of sleep deprivation.
A study on rodents showed that if you are only sleeping 2-3 hours less than your optimum amount (7-8 hours per night) you will likely feel up to 24% more hunger throughout the day.
This increased appetite leads to becoming overweight and puts you at risk of many other conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease in the long term.
Another big issue with sleep deprivation is that we don’t recover optimally. Even if our diet and training plans are on point we’ll have a hard time making any gains or improvements in abilities.
Furthermore, our productivity will decrease.
In other words, our body will suffer, our mind will suffer, and our relationships will suffer.
If that isn’t enough to make you get those important 8 hours every night, we have one more thing to convince you to get more serious about it.
Short sleep duration will lose you money!
That’s right.
When you have a bad night of sleep you will have trouble making the right decisions.
You are not focused enough and you miss opportunities.
Missed opportunities could lead to losing money!
After knowing all the consequences of bad sleeping habits, let’s jump straight into some tips that will help you improve and get that all important 8 hours.
How do we actually get better sleep?
The quality of your sleep is affected by a variety of factors, here are the fundamentals required to do the job:
- Create a routine
Going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time every day will make your life easier.
You should train your brain to “shut down” and wake up at specific times.
By doing this, you teach your body when it is time to rest and when it is time to move.
- Invest in a good mattress
We spend ⅓ of our lives sleeping.
We shouldn’t compromise on a good mattress since it has an important role in the quality of our sleep.
Bonus: The pillow is also a nice investment, so spend your money wisely on a comfortable one.
- Remember these 3 keywords
- Cold – 17-18 degrees is a perfect temperature for sleeping.
- Noise – It should be quiet in your room.
- Darkness – It must be fully dark when you sleep, so buying dark curtains or blinds is a smart idea.
- Take a hot bath or shower before sleep
It helps in reducing body temperature, which is important for sleeping. The hot bath increases capillary blood circulation so after the bath or shower, your body is ‘tricked’ into cooling down which often triggers sleep.
- Reduce caffeine consumption
Don’t drink caffeinated beverages after late afternoon because your sleep will suffer.
- Don’t look at your phone, laptop, or TV before bed
The blue light is damaging your sleep, so reading a book is preferable – not on your kindle or ipad though!
Final thoughts:
If you are finally ready to get the best sleep of your life and say goodbye to insomnia and low-quality sleep, follow these tips and come back here to thank us later!
Sleep tight.