8 Hours Of Sleep and Still Tired? Do This
If you’ve been having at least eight hours of sleep and yet you’re feeling increasingly tired each day, you’re likely suffering from poor sleep quality. And just so you know, leaving it unresolved won’t only affect how refreshed you feel after waking up. It actually puts you at risk of developing health concerns like hypertension, obesity, and even diabetes.
Ending the Dilemma
Fortunately, it’s possible to put an end to poor sleep quality. In fact, many of the solutions you could adopt aren’t that difficult to do, and they won’t set you back financially either. Once you’re ready to try a few of these fixes, go through this list and see which ones are most immediately applicable to your own unique situation.
Get Enough Exercise
Though experts still haven’t uncovered the specific means through which exercise improves sleep quality, it’s been long accepted that there’s a positive link between the two. What’s understood so far, however, is that working out helps alleviate one common reason for poor sleep quality—obstructive apnea.
Apnea is characterized by sudden and recurring pauses in breathing. Although the problem itself stems from certain muscles failing to move, it’s often made worse by the weight of the neck pressing down on the respiratory tract. And one way of trimming down your neck fat is by getting enough exercise daily.
If you’re worried about the perfect time to work out, well, timing doesn’t really matter that much. Although a few end up having problems falling asleep whenever they exercise in the evening, most people don’t really feel any difference—and yes, they still get to enjoy noticeable improvements in sleep quality.
Watch What You Drink
How Coffee affects your sleep quality
Some of the most commonly enjoyed beverages may actually affect your slumber, to the point of ruining your sleep cycle. Coffee and tea, for example, contain caffeine—a substance known for its potency as a stimulant. Now, even if you manage to fall asleep a couple of hours after drinking a cup of joe, the said substance stays in your system.
It makes you susceptible to sleep disruptions, as well as prevents you from staying in deep sleep long enough. You’re also more likely to wake up in the middle of the night wanting to relieve your bladder. Caffeine, after all, is a diuretic. That being said, alcohol, another drink that you should try to avoid, is more potent at increasing urination.
Although alcoholic beverages are known to induce sleep, they aren’t really good for overall sleep quality. In fact, booze has been associated with brief, unnoticeable awakenings that break the sleep cycle. Furthermore, while they appear to lengthen deep sleep, alcoholic drinks interfere with the rapid-eye-movement (REM) stage of slumber.
So, with all these in mind, it’s best to simply stay away from caffeine-containing beverages as well as those with alcohol in them. But, if getting rid of such sinful pleasures entirely seems impossible, you should at least minimize your consumption and refrain from enjoying them at night.
A Perfect Environment
Sleep quality is mainly about having uninterrupted sleep, or at the very least being able to go back to sleep without much difficulty and within a short span of time. And so, it’s crucial that you maintain an ideal environment for slumber—one that’s cool, quiet, and comfortable.
Cool means keeping your room’s temperature within the range of 60o to 67o F. As for quiet, well, it’s just about eliminating ambient sounds that may wake you up. A white noise machine might help in this aspect. Comfort, on the other hand, is about having a bed and pillows with the right firmness, though this is mostly up to your preference.
If you’re willing, you could also take advantage of certain calming scents. Lavender, for example, relaxes the nervous system and lowers blood pressure.
To Better Mornings
The fastest approach to improving your sleep quality depends on the things currently affecting it. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to apply other ways of ensuring that you’re able to stay asleep uninterrupted. In fact, if possible, why don’t you give everything listed here a go—after all, it’s your own health and wellness that’s ultimately at stake.
