If you always feel sleepy during the day, feeling exhausted, low concentration, no pump in the gym or cannot sleep at night then you need to read that article
- Negative effects of sleeping disorder
- Reduced fat burning
- Headaches
- Low metabolism
- Low testosterone (lower sex drive in general)
- Depression
- Memory loss
- Reduced growth hormone release
- Low power in the gym
- Reduced muscle recovery
- Causes of sleeping disorder
- Medical conditions (allergies, cold, respiratory problems….)
- Certain medications
- Frequent Urination
- Stress
- Overthinking
- Noisy environment
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Too much caffeine or late caffein consumption
- Too much screen time (PC, Tablet or mobile phones specially before bed)
- Lack of sunlight
- Sleeping in light
will cause reduced melatonin release which make it harder to sleep
- Ways to improve sleep
Now let us speak positive if you already suffer from lack of sleep or sleep disorder do not panic, Studies show that 45% of world population suffer from sleeping disorder in different ways and you can still counter that, Below we will discuss below how to improve your sleep:
a. Avoid napping
Napping can affect your night sleep so try to reduce it to a minimum (30 to 45 min) otherwise it will make it very difficult to fall asleep at night also make sure that napping will happen before 3:00 pm
b. Try to fix your sleep and wake-up time
Fixing a time to sleep and to awake daily is the first step of having a proper sleeping schedule including your weekends
c. Avoid screens 2 hours before bed
Most of us watch Instagram feeds or Facebook or YouTube before sleep which causes lots of negative effects on the brain starting from reduced melatonin, to multiple night wake up and also adds lot of depression and anxiety and exhausting the brain
d. Exposure to sunlight (vitamin D)
If you work in an office like most people do you will be lacking sunlight which increases melatonin production the sleeping hormone, then you need to try to get exposed to sunlight (Eat lunch outdoors, take a break and make a walk down the street, have an outdoor meeting, morning walk before work) also sunlight exposure plays a vital role by increasing vitamin D in your body which reduces depression and increase the quality of sleep
e. Eating healthy meals
Eating a healthy meal optimize your metabolism and also cause a sleep comfort at night, Studies show that eating junk food, saturated fats and consuming more sugar is inked to less restorative sleep
f. Exercise
Regularly working out can improve sleep a lot even if just walking 30 minutes per day
g. Avoid stress
Avoiding stress can improve your sleep enormously, if talking to negative people or watching negative news increase your stress then avoid it, try to avoid work stress by not taking every problem personally and use healthy responses
h. Be positive
Try to be positive no matter what problems or stress you are in, by giving yourself a treat and separating work from personal life, stay relaxed to get a recharge as more depression and stress increases cortisol levels which affect sleep at night
i. Avoid late caffein
Do not drink coffee later than 5pm that will affect sleeping at night (include tea, red bull or any caffeinated drinks)
j. Avoid late night overthinking
Most of us reserve all the thinking at night weather you had a problem with your spouse, issues at work or with a friend it all comes in your brain in the evening and that will cause a huge stress and will definitely makes you awake, that causes extreme stress on your brain, and believe it or not your brain needs a break so you need to write down action plan of your problems on a piece of paper and then relax, do some deep breathing and think about what makes you happy e.g. going in a cruise trip , think about what you will do in your next weekend or anything else makes you more relaxed
- Sleeping positions
One of the most common sleeping disorders is wrong positions which not only affect sleep but can cause back and neck pain and sometimes injuries also it obstructs breathing and can cause fatigue
What is the best sleeping position from best to worst?
- Side sleeping (Best)
That is by far the best sleeping position and it is most common but in order to reduce the stress completely from your spine and neck you have to do the following
- Raise one leg on the bed or keep your legs straight and put a small pillow between your legs
- Put a small pillow underneath that leg
- Your head pillow should be high enough to fill the shoulder gap
Check the photo
- Back with knee and back support (Better)
That is the second-best sleeping position as it is comfortable for the back and it also reduces stress on the neck and again, we need to maximize the benefit so in order to reduce back, neck and knee stress to minimum …
- Add a small pillow underneath the lower back
- Add a small pillow underneath the end of your hamstring
- Make sure your neck is raised to the straight position
4.3 Fetal position (Good)
That’s a popular position for women especially pregnant, it feels warmer and more protective however to get the least stress on your back and knees and also to be comfortable you have to do the following
- Add a small pillow between knees
- Your legs should be slightly extended
4.4 Stomach (Ok)
It is the best to reduce snoring however it is not very comfortable for the neck and digestive system, however we can get the best out of it by few tweaks let us find out how
- Put your arms under the pillow
- Sleeping stages
Full sleeping happens in 4 stages and they are in cycles so these 4 stages keep cycling all night
REM: rapid eye movement
Stage 1: Light sleep (NON-REM) duration: 5-10 minutes
Your eyes are closed but you are in a very light sleep, waking up is easy
Stage 2: Moderate sleep (NON-REM) duration 10-25 minutes
You become more comfortable as your heart beat slows and body is getting ready to the next stage deep sleep
Stage 3: Deep sleep (NON-REM) duration 25-90 minutes
Most important sleep stage of all, it is where your body do the full recovery for your muscle’s fibers, brain cells and skin, build bones and strengthen the immune system, the total deep sleep required for full recovery 3-4 hours per night
Stage 4: REM sleep duration 10-60 minutes
- Sleeping supplements
