Good sleep is essential to good physical, mental and emotional health, but many of us not only struggle with getting enough sleep, but getting quality sleep. Sometimes getting a quality night's rest takes a little work, and we're ready to offer some tips on how to you can start your own healthy sleep routine.
Routines are easier to stick to if they become habits. Many of the systems of the human body run on cycles, and the sleep cycle is one that works much better with consistency.
To begin a habitual bedtime ritual, it's important to plan on achieving between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. Monitor your daily schedule to find a consistent waking time, and plan on going to bed at an hour that guarantees seven to eight hours of quality sleep. Try not to vary this time by more than an hour on any given night, including nights over the weekend when you may not be required to wake at the same time in the morning. Consistency will be key in maintaining a habitual sleep routine.
What you eat and drink and when you eat and drink can have a major impact on the quality of your sleep.
Eating large meals close to bedtime will disrupt your quality sleep. If your digestive system is using energy that is normal prioritized for rest and recovery while in a sleep state, you may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep all night. Even if you do stay asleep all night, you may not achieve a quality sleep state even if you remain asleep for seven to eight hours. Try not to eat for a few hours before bedtime, but if you do, make sure to choose light snacks that are easy to digest.
Good sleep also requires good hydration. When you sleep, your body still needs fluids to perform the repair and recovery tasks that happen overnight. Drinking large amounts of fluids right before bedtime is not a good idea, however. Excess fluids in your body may trigger an urge to urinate during the night, causing you to wake up to use the restroom multiple times.
Your hydration ritual throughout the day is an important part of your sleep habits, even if you're consuming fluids in the morning, at lunch or a few hours before bed. In order to ensure that your body is fully hydrated before you go to sleep, start your morning off with a pint of water and consume fluids at regular intervals, especially when eating. Consider supplementing your water intake with a TapouT sports beverage. TapouT sports drinks not only give you a boost in electrolytes and vitamins, they are formulated to help your body retain fluids and properly utilize them during the day.
It's also important to monitor and limit your caffeine intake. Caffeine is a stimulant that will prevent your body from winding down. We recommend abstaining from coffee, tea and other caffeinated beverages in the evening to ensure your body is in a relaxed state at bedtime. Many of these beverages are also diuretics that could hinder the hydration process, especially late in the day.
A well-hydrated body will not only fall asleep faster, but give your body the ability to get a higher quality of rest.
We all love a good nap, but a short nap during the day has the potential to destroy your ability to sleep overnight. Try to maintain a consistent sleep schedule that starts and ends at approximately the same time on a daily basis, and the need for the after lunch nap will be eliminated.
Exercise is important to keep our body in shape, but it's also a valuable tool in getting consistent sleep.
Working out during the day will help relieve stress, burn calories and strengthen muscles. Reducing stress and giving your muscles activity during the day prepares your body for rest at night. A physically tired body will fall asleep faster and stay asleep throughout the night.
Be careful to monitor how much you sweat while working out into account. You'll lost fluids, vitamins and minerals through sweat, and a well-hydrated body that has all systems supplied with essential nutrients not only performs at a high level, it sleeps at a high level. Consider drinking a TapouT to quickly resupply your body with fluids, electrolytes and vitamins after a workout to help prepare your body for sleep later that night.
Be mindful that physical exercise late at night could disrupt your sleep. After a workout, your body still could be producing adrenaline and your mind will take some time to wind down from the process of providing the energy needed to make gains during training and competition.
The conditions of the room you sleep in can impact the quality of your sleep. Make sure that noise and light are limited and that the temperature is cool and comfortable.
Sound and lights stimulate your mind, and this stimulation prevents good sleep. Even if you are able to fall asleep, the human brain is still processing sensory inputs such as noise and light, causing a restless sleep state.
Hot environments also prevent quality sleep. If you're able to create a cool environment without the use of noisy fans, a cool room will allow for great sleep.
Your sleep environment involves more than the conditions when you close your eyes, it also involves the period of time before you hit the sack. Turn off the TV, smartphones and other electronics before bed. Replacing these types of activities with relaxing activities such as meditation, a hot bath or listening to soft music can help you fall asleep much faster.
TapouT beverages are designed to help hydrate the human body better. They contain 240mg of the natural sodium that the body needs to properly utilize fluids and transport necessary nutrients to muscles and organs. With a scientifically crafted formula of vitamins and electrolytes, each bottle of TapouT will promote performance, recovery and proper hydration.
