How To Get A Good Night’s SleepWere you aware that the recommended amount of sleep for an adult is at least 7h per 24h?
Did you know that we spend roughly 26 years sleeping?
Or that we spend an average of 7 years TRYING to fall asleep?
Sleep is the activity we spend more time on than anything else while on this planet.
Not getting enough sleep has been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, workplace accidents, car & plane crashes, medical errors, and early death.
It can also mean a lower income over your lifetime, or more/higher medical bills.
Also consider that 30% of adults now suffer from insomnia, and you realise that we are a sleep deprived society.
So it stands to reason that you should try everything in your power to get a good night’s sleep.
To fall asleep you need to be able to relax your body and your mind enough to drift off to sleep.
This means if you are stressed (work, finances, relationships) your mind will struggle to let go.
If your mattress is bad, or gives you a back ache, your mind will automatically cause your body to tense up when you go to bed in anticipation of the resulting pain.
Calm your mind
Personally my favourite way to calm my mind is the Practice of Gratitude.
It’s a mindfulness exercise where you deliberately write down, and give thanks, for all the good things in your mind.
The alternative is meditation but I find that most people struggle to find enough time for meditation, nor can they actually successfully “empty the mind”, which is what most types of meditations require.
So deliberately replacing worry or negative stressful thoughts with positive thoughts and the feeling of gratitude, is a far easier exercise for new beginners.
You can read more about the Practice of Gratitude here.
Physical comfort
I’m someone who fidgets.
I can’t help it.
I have to be very comfortable before I can relax.
The sheets shouldn’t be too tight around me, the pillow not too lumpy, I can’t be too hot or too cold, and so forth.
And don’t get me started on my mattress.
I find having a good mattress very important for not only my physical comfort, but also how my body feels when I wake up in the morning.
As older readers might have noticed, as the years move on, we’re more prone to little aches and pains when we wake up in the morning.
So trying to save money on your mattress is a false economy.
Your bed, bedding, pillow and mattress, these are exactly the things you should spend your money on.
But carefully, no-one needs to spend ,000 on a mattress.
Thanks to suppliers now selling online, and not having the overhead costs of brick and mortar shops, you can buy a very good mattress these days for under ,000 on amazon.com.
If you simply do not have the budget at this point in time, then consider a mattress topper, I recommend the ViscoSoft 4 Inch Pillow Top Memory Foam Mattress Topper, which can be purchased from Amazon.
It is made from a 2.5” gel infused memory foam layer topped with a 1.5” down alternative layer.
The memory foam layer provides support for your spine, and the down alternative layer gives you that plush cushy feeling.
It will at least provide a layer of support for your body until you can afford to buy a new and better mattress.
Sleeping disorders
Finally, if you think you have a sleep disorder I urge you to see your doctor.
And start by keeping a sleep diary to show your doctor exactly how you are struggling, it will make it easier for the doctor to diagnose you correctly and prescribe the correct treatment.
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