Your bed is often the place where you reflect the whole day. Things you should have done, things you shouldn’t have said, how expensive your child’s education is going to be; the list is endless. At some point, what should have been a restful night sleep, turns into a sleepless haven of never ending thoughts. The result? A stress and anxiety induced sleep deprivation! Stress and anxiety can cause or worsen sleep problems. Consequently, lack of sleep leads to a long list of health issues which can prove fatal. Adding insult to frustration, a lack of sleep also leads to a reactive approach to the next day. While we cannot stop our mind from racing a 100% when we hit the bed, there are simple strategies that have been used time and again to help unwind.
Stress-Free Mattress
A great part of your sleep success depends on the mattress you sleep on. Get a hard mattress and you’ll keep waking up to find the most comfortable position to sleep on. Waking up on a hard mattress can also wake up plenty of aches and pains to the whole body that can lead to serious health issues. The converse is also true where if you buy a mattress that is too soft- chances are your body will sink into the mattress offering minimal support to the body. To combat these, invest in a mattress that suits your sleep patterns and other individual preferences. Smart mattress manufacturer like Wakefit, produce innovative quality memory foam mattresses that contour the body shape to assist in restful sleep. What’s more, their firmness levels can be adjusted to suit your choice and alleviate any allergy related stress being hypoallergenic in nature.
Pillows
The marriage of the right mattress with the right pillow accounts for a significant amount of restful sleep. Whilst a buy-a-mattress-get-a-pillow-free, sounds enticing from a budget perspective, it’s critical to pick a pillow that aligns your head to the mattress without causing stress to the neck. Neck pains can be worsened sleeping on a pillow that’s too soft or hard, so make sure to pick one that matches your mattress firmness to ensure your body has balanced support across.
Sleep environment
The last thing you want before you hit the bed is a noisy clock ticking away or lights of electronic items blinking away. Turn off all artificial lights or sounds that can affect your sleep hormone from producing. Any unnatural light can increase your stress hormones and push you to remain awake. Apart from this, make sure to choose colours that start your relaxation process as soon as you enter the room. Neutral and warm colours like beige, blue, light shades of yellow are known to give a soothing effect.
Sleep routine
A consistent sleep routine helps create a comforting rhythm avoiding stress and sleep disorders. Stress and anxiety are two things that keep seeping in the mind irrelevant of time and space. Sticking to a mundane routine can help digress focus to the routine rather than the anxiety evoking thoughts. Your routine can consist a bath, reading a book, saying a prayer or listen to some soothing music to mindfully end the day. Once this repetitive routine sets in, your mind reacts by settling into sleep much quicker than normal.
Meditate
An age old secret, meditation is known to combat many health issues. Particularly, to quieten the mind of thoughts related to stress. Focus on your inhaling and exhaling while letting go of the past and future for a few minutes a day. Soon, you’ll be snoozing in as easy as 1-2 and 3!