February 12, 2021
The beginning of the year brings for most, the rush of back to school, work and study – and a slightly turbulent start to our slumber schedule. Many of us have relished the extra hours spent in the land of nod over the holiday period, making it easy to feel the benefits that come with a good night’s sleep. Sleep can often get deprioritized when our days get busier and social occasions linger late into the night. We’ve talked snooze with the sleep specialists at Eden Sleep to help better your performance in the sheets and consequently, out in the field.
Sleep shouldn’t be viewed as a loss of time; it should be recognised as a critical bodily function. When it comes to putting our mind to the matter, sleep is a significant part of why our mental cogs begin whirring each day – on the contrary, sleep deprivation can lose us up to 11 days of productivity per year.
If you’re weighing up between working late or bedding down, we’ve listed the benefits of a good night’s sleep and what happens when the sheets are pulled prematurely from beneath you.
The work hard, play hard lifestyle can often fall short of expectation if we forget to commit as much energy to sleep. It’s often confusing to find a starting point when working on improving your snooze – so like many human habits, it’s best to make a routine of it.
Our Top Five Tips for Developing a Healthy Sleep Routine
- Keep a consistent schedule - Watch that clock! You should be aiming to go to sleep at a similar time each night and wake up at the same time each morning. Keep this up on the weekends too for the best chance of dozing off, fast!
- Remove unwanted light and sound - Many mammals suffer from environmental factors disrupting their circadian rhythm, and humans are no exception. Light and sound can be a particular pain but there are some simple solutions available - an eye mask and earplugs could make all the difference.
- Avoid alcohol consumption - Nothing beats winding down from a day than a beverage or two, but alcohol can interfere with our rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. Stick to a glass or two before bed and if you want to indulge a little more… corking it four hours before bed can reduce the effect alcohol has on your sleep!
- Reduce caffeine intake - The temptation of a caffeinated drink or a coffee always presents itself alongside the dessert menu at restaurants, however, that does not always mean it should be ordered. The caffeine in these drinks is a stimulant and can ward off our sleep hormone, melatonin – so it’s best to opt for decaf in the evening.
- Avoid electronics before bedtime - Switching off can be hard, especially when work often follows us home on our phone. Pick up a good book or practice meditation or mindfulness – there’s plenty of activities that get you primed for a snooze that don’t involve blue-light.
If you're still not achieving your dreams, both in the bedroom and the workplace, talk to your local bed specialist and take a sleep assessment to see what you might be able to improve on. Often it only takes a small change to notice a big difference in terms of how you feel.
