Waking up every morning feeling tired and like you didn't sleep well can seriously mess with your job performance.
 |
| How to Improve Deep Sleep to Stay Productive at Work |
If this sounds familiar, it's probably not that you're not getting enough sleep, but rather that the quality of your sleep isn't great.
There's no hard and fast rule about how many hours of sleep you need to feel rested. However, if you're dealing with drowsiness during the day, it likely means you're not getting enough deep, restorative sleep.
This stage of sleep is crucial because it allows your brain to rest properly and helps your body recover enough energy. To stay healthy and perform well at work, getting enough quality sleep is essential.
Understanding Deep Sleep
Simply sleeping isn't always enough to fully rest your body. Even while you're asleep, your brain is still at work. The human biological clock runs through 4 to 6 sleep cycles each night, with each cycle divided into three stages:
Light Slow-Wave Sleep: This is the stage where you're dozing off, your breathing slows down, and you might feel like you're floating. At this point, your body isn't fully inactive, and the slightest noise could wake you up.
Deep Slow-Wave Sleep: This is the phase where your body is completely relaxed and unresponsive to external stimuli. Your heart rate and breathing become steady, your eye movements slow down, and your muscles loosen up. During this phase, your brain and body get the most rest.
REM Sleep: This is when your body is totally inactive, but your brain is buzzing with activity. It's during this stage that you dream the most.
Deep sleep is the stage that lets your body rest and regenerate. The benefits of deep sleep are plenty, including strengthening your immune system, releasing growth hormones, solidifying memory, learning and retaining information, and healing wounds and injuries. This sleep stage also helps prevent conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
So, it's crucial to get quality deep sleep to avoid health problems and keep up with your daily activities. Here are some expert tips on how to improve deep sleep on a daily basis.
8 Tips for Quality Deep Sleep
If you want to wake up feeling refreshed every morning, try following these simple tips for better sleep.
Go to Bed at the First Signs of Fatigue
Everyone has their own internal biological clock. If you start feeling your eyes sting, your eyelids get heavy, and you start yawning repeatedly in the evening, your body is telling you it's time to hit the sack.
Ignoring these signs means you'll miss the window to fall asleep, and you'll have to wait for the next sleep cycle, which usually comes around 90 minutes later. But don’t force yourself to sleep if you're not feeling tired.
Set a Regular Bedtime
Try to go to bed at the same time every night. Having a regular sleep schedule helps maintain good sleep hygiene.
On the other hand, if your sleep times are irregular, you'll have a harder time falling asleep. It might not be easy, and you might miss a few nights, but try to keep it consistent as much as possible.
Create a Relaxing Sleep Environment
For good sleep hygiene, keep electronics out of the bedroom. No TV, computer, or work desk. Your bedroom should be as quiet as possible, reserved for sleep and sexual activities, which can also promote better sleep.
Also, avoid sleeping with pets in your bed. Dogs and cats have a more disrupted sleep pattern, which can cause you to wake up during the night.
Turn Off the Lights
Along with noise, light is another sleep disruptor. Sleeping with the lights on delays the onset of sleep and can mess up your biological clock. To avoid fragmented sleep, reduce light sources as much as possible.
Invest in Quality Bedding
The quality of your sleep greatly depends on your comfort. A good mattress, neither too soft nor too firm, is key to getting a good night's sleep. Pair that with the best pillows you can find to ensure comfort throughout the night.
Have a Light Dinner
It's best to eat a light dinner to make digestion easier at night. Aim to finish eating at least two hours before bedtime.
Poor digestion can make it harder to sleep, so include legumes like peas, beans, and lentils in your evening meals. You can also have a small portion of fish or whole grains. Avoid alcohol and stimulants like caffeine before bed.
Exercise Daily
Regular physical activity is recommended, and it's not just a TV ad slogan. Exercise helps regulate your biological clock and promotes deep, restorative sleep. Even just 30 minutes of exercise a day can significantly improve your sleep.
However, stop any physical activity at least three hours before bedtime because it raises your body temperature, delaying sleep and triggering wakefulness and stress hormones.
Consult Your Doctor
This might seem obvious, but if you're having trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor. They can help identify the root cause of your sleep issues and offer solutions to get things back on track.
They might prescribe short-term sleeping pills to help correct your sleep problems. However, be careful not to become too dependent on them.
By following these tips, you can improve your deep sleep quality, which will help you feel more refreshed and ready to tackle your workday.
0 Comments