#HealthBytes: Simple hacks to help you get good quality sleep
Sleep-deprivation is known to cause a whole host of serious health problems such as stroke, diabetes, indigestion, to name a few. Additionally, with increasing pressures of modern life, it's often the case that people don't get the required 7-8 hours of sleep, owing to factors other than time constraints. If you're someone who has trouble sleeping, here are some general tips that can help.
About sleep schedule, and relaxation ritual
One simple way to get quality sleep every night is to maintain a rigid sleeping and wake-up routine every day, including weekends. This helps set-up your body clock, so you can fall asleep and get up "on time" without fail. A "relaxation ritual" is nothing but a daily routine one chooses to perform every night to help themselves fall asleep. Reading is an example.
About taking naps, and working out
Though power-naps are quite good for health, you might want to consider eliminating naps from your daytime, so you fall asleep quickly and easily at night. Working out during the day is also a great idea to get more quality sleep at night as exercise makes you physically tired, which ultimately helps in falling asleep.
About setting up your room, and the quality of mattresses/pillows
It's important to have the right environment in your bedroom to facilitate good quality sleep. Dim down the lights, switch-off phones and other devices, and get rid of distracting noises. If you're a light sleeper, using earplugs and eye-shades also helps. It's also advisable to buy mattresses and pillows of good quality as poor ones might hamper sleep.
About maintaining healthy habits, and lighting patterns
Try to expose yourself to bright lights during the day, and dimmer ones later in the evening. Also, avoid health-hampering habits as such smoking, drinking, excessive caffeine consumption etc., as these contribute to sleeplessness or poor quality of sleep. For dinner, heavy, spicy meals should be avoided, and lighter, easy-on-the-stomach food should be chosen, to ensure digestive troubles don't disrupt sleep.
