What’s The Best Way to Sleep According To Your Needs

Sleeping is important for so many reasons.

Not only is it important to keep us productive and functional, but it is necessary for survival.

A lot of people who have difficulty sleeping suffer in emotional, physical, and mental state.

Some become less productive or just plain moody. Others gain or lose weight.

In the long run, it can mess up the cognitive impairment if sleep deprivation becomes a regular thing.

If you are worried that you have been experiencing problems in this avenue of your life, you might need to find ways  to help yourself fall asleep in a much more quicker way.

There are numerous ways to do this. You can try a combination of methods and sleep techniques to get back to sleeping as normal and peacefully as possibly.

What is the best way to sleep?

Twelve Tips to Get to Dreamland Faster

1. Familiarize yourself with the healthy sleeping positions.

People who prefer sleeping on their backs are scientifically proven to experience sleep apnea and back pains, particularly on the lower region. Both of these problems may result to problems falling asleep or staying asleep.

For this reason, it is advised to sleep on your side. It is considered the best sleeping position for lower back pain. Also, it eases blockage along the airways and on some ways, it helps the heart pumps more blood to your system more efficiently.

In the argument of which side is best to sleep on: left or right, the topic can be controversial. However, sleeping on the left side is considered a better choice in improving sleep quality and overall health. Below are the reasons why this is favored by experts:

• It helps in filtering the lymphatic system.

The left side is kind of the more dominant side of the lymphatic system. Researches have proven that utilizing this position can speed up the process of eliminating waste materials away from the brain.

• It helps the heart.

According to doctors, this is the best position to sleep during pregnancy because of its ability to improve heart and blood circulation. It also reduces the pressure off the heart. However, there is a debate that the right side might be better for the heart.

• It aids in digestion.

If you sleep on the left, the food waste can transfer easily and instigate bowel movement just in time for morning. Due to gravity, the pancreas and stomach to just hang naturally. This increases pancreatic enzymes and stimulate different digestive processes.

Each sleeping position has its own benefits. Here is a table of each sleeping position and their corresponding advantages and disadvantages:

2. Know the proper sleeping direction.

This is probably an old wives’ tale, but sleeping in the right direction is believed to have an effect on your sleep quality. Plus, the explanation, albeit not proven, are backed up with scientific reasoning. When you place your body in a horizontal pattern, you can feel how your pulse immediately drops. This is because the body will need to adjust to pump at the similar level. Placing your head in the north can cause magnetic pull to put a pressure on your brain. So, what is the best sleeping direction?

Some agree that sleeping in a north-east direction is fine. The West and North are also both okay. But, the most recommended direction is East. There are some spiritual teachings involved in this topic.

 3. Buy new pillows.

The stress of using am improper pillow often leads to poor sleep. What will all the physical discomfort or endless tossing and turning, falling asleep will be a nightly struggle.

Considering a proper neck pillow can help you in releasing the tension in the area, aside from knowing the best sleeping position for neck pain.

Using two pillows on for your head and one between your knees and highs can decrease the chance of putting your body in an awkward position. It helps align your body keeping it as neutral as possible.

4. Invest on a good mattress.

Sometimes, a bad sleep can be caused by an uncomfortable mattress. In fact, it has been proven that matresses are known to be critcial in determining sleep quality. The slightest changes can bring you better sleep. Additionally, it can provide more lumbar support and evens out the pressure in the pelvic, lumbar, and thoracic regions.

So, it is not enough knowing what is the best sleeping position for spine is, if your mattress is doing you more harm than good.

5. Have a warm bath or warm shower.

There are many findings that show that people who are experiencing insomnia have increased higher core temperature before going to bed. A lot of people support the idea that getting into a hot bath or shower prior to entering your cool room can make falling asleep easier.

6. Choose comfortable sleepwear.

As stated previously, there is a possible link between the temperature of the body and sleeping. Wearing comfortable clothes or zero clothes (if possible!) will balance your body temperature making it easier to snooze away through the night.

7. Use bed socks.

Keeping your hands and feet warm can make it easy to fall asleep. On the other side, having a literal cold feet can keep you up at night. Put on a pair for a more snuggly time on your bed.

8. Shut your phone off.

This rule does not only apply to phone usage. Blue screens in smartphones and other electronic devices can ruin the circadian rhythm and sleep quality. Switching off your devices or not using them an hour or two before bedtime can speed up falling asleep for you.

9. Lessen the noise exposure or listen to relaxing music, instead.

Loud environment will certainly ruin sleeping time for you. Music that has around 80 beats a minute is considered a slow music. Listening to music of this type can improve sleep quality and lead to a relaxing feeling that will have you snoring in no time. It is also one of the best ways to minimize annoying noise in the background that can disrupt sleep.

10. Install proper lighting in your bedroom.

Like the lights from your devices, most lamps and lightbulbs also cause  intrusions in your sleep patterns. If possible, install a dimmer that you can easily access to. It will help render your environment more acclimatizing for sleeping.

11. Deal with your stress.

Aside from setting the changes you should do to your environment, you have to condition your mental state, as well. Stress and anxiety are considered as huge contributing factors in sleep problems like insomnia.

Some of the ways to eliminate stress is to do yoga, meditate, or visit an acupuncturist and have acupressure. Meditating actually lessens insomnia. It has been proven that meditating even just 10 to 15 minutes a day can make a huge impact in improving your sleep quality and duration. Also, there are some acupressure techniques that can lessen insomnia symptoms.

12. Maintain a consistent sleeping pattern.

Trick your mind by keeping steady sleep schedule. The internal clock is responsible for maintaining the sleep and wake cycle. Unpredictable sleeping habits can lead to sleeping disorders. But, if you maintain a routine, your body can easily adapt and automatically signal your brain that it is time to hit the sack.

In a survey conducted, over 40% of the respondents, who are all adults, felt that they are not getting enough sleep. This result was backed up by reports done by National Institute Neurological Disorders and Stroke. According to them, roughly 60 million of Americans suffer from insomnia every year and above 40 million have chronic sleep disorders.

Conclusion

There are plenty of things that you can try first before consulting a physician regarding your sleeping problems. Just by tweaking some of your habits (or eliminating some!), all might turn out well for you. This will require actual effort on your end. Be prepared to make significant changes to your environment. You also might need to start practicing drastic lifestyle changes for long-term benefits. At the end of the day, you are responsible for your sleep health.