10 Tips for Getting Better Sleep at Night

The older you get, the less you tend to sleep. Many older people assume sleeping isn’t as important as when they were younger. However, that’s a misconception. It’s still very important to get a good night’s sleep, no matter how old you are. According to research, older people generally needs 6 hours of sleep.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for bed:

1. Don’t eat immediately before you sleep

Sleep deactivates the body. At least, it slows it down significantly. Eating right before you go to sleep would require harder work on your stomach to digest the food. This extra burden may stop your body from getting a proper rest, thus affecting your health and quality of sleep.

2. Try to avoid conversations immediately before you sleep

I say this because conversations can trigger a heated discussion, which will then make you excited. Sometimes, it may even be a long, in depth, life changing experience of great passion and inspiration. This is all brilliant, but doesn’t exactly help you sleep. When our minds are excited, or stimulated, it’s much harder to sleep. Also, once you’re in that state, it can take a while just to calm down.

3. Don’t overwork your Mind before going to sleep

Try and finish up your studies or work earlier in the night, rather than leaving it right before bedtime. Instead, try and do some light activities to relax your brain and help you get into sleep mode. If you’ve overworked yourself too much, you may find that it’s hard to sleep, especially if you’re laying awake, thinking about the problems. If this goes on for a long time, it may even lead to insomnia.

4. Don’t fly into a full blow rage before going to sleep

Yes, you heard me. Raging isn’t a good thing, particularly before bedtime. Sleeping is at its best when your nerves are calm and at peace. When your emotions stir up in anger, you nerves are probably rushing all over the place, making it impossible to sleep. If anything you read may upset you, try not to read them before going to bed. If arguments may occur, try and avoid talking.

5. Avoid drinking anything with caffeine

This includes tea, coffee and some soft drinks.

Don’t drink strong tea, coffee. Caffeine is very likely to stimulate the mind and make it hard for people to sleep. Try and have them in the morning rather than afternoon or night.

6. Don’t go to sleep with your mouth Open

If you open your mouth while you’re sleeping, virus and bacteria in the air or dust may find their sneaky little ways inside and cause your lungs or stomach to become infected. This may cause illnesses if you’re not careful.

7. Don’t cover your head while you’re sleeping

Sometimes, older people like to cover their heads, perhaps because of the cold air. This may not be a great idea because you’ll probably breathe in more carbon dioxide than oxygen and that’s not a very good thing.

8. Don’t sleep on your back

The best sleeping posture is lying on your ride side. This way, your bones and muscles are in their natural, relaxed position and will make it easier to sleep. Doing this will also help your body relax and loosen up. Lying on the back on the other hand, may cause your bones and muscles to be tense. For some reason, it has been observed that lying on the back with your hands on your chest can cause nightmares and affect your sleeping quality.

9. Avoid a direct light going into your eyes while you’re sleeping

Even when you close your eyes, you can sometimes still feel the light. Usually, your body releases melatonin while in the darkness, and having a light will do the opposite, which may cause restlessness and insomnia. It’s also very easy to wake up when there’s a light.

10. Try not to have wind blowing directly towards you

It’s wonderful to keep your room circulated with air, but try and have it blow all directions rather than directly on your body. That’s because when you’re sleeping, your body finds it harder to adapt to its environment. Exposing yourself to cold wind and air can make it easier for you to get a stiff shoulder.