Sleep plays a vital and complex role in the maintenance of physical health and optimizing brain functions during the day.
Research shows that lack of sleep, poor quality of sleep as well as irregular sleep patterns have a negative effect on hormonal secretion, muscle growth, and recovery, as well as the cognitive ability of an individual.
Another study concluded that having a consistent bedtime during childhood is directly linked with brain development and cognitive performance.
In order to optimize your physical health, enhance mental capacity and reach optimum metabolic functioning, it is crucial to go to sleep at a consistent time every day.
Here are 10 tips that will help you go to bed at the same time each and every day:
1. Make a commitment
Similar to having a reminder for a meeting or an important event, plan your bedtime in your calendar or set an alarm. The way you make the commitment could be different for every individual.
For someone it could be a hard time of 10 pm every night or for another, it could be a half hour after their favorite TV show. Whatever it takes, you need to make a commitment to yourself.
Much like a workout or meal time, you need to stick with it for the long term. An occasional night out is acceptable, but do not make it a habit.
Bottom Line:
Set a regular bedtime in accordance with your normal daily activities so that you are able to commit to it every single night.
2. Craft a schedule
In order to craft a schedule that will work for you, start first by understanding your sleep pattern.
For most adults, their day is dictated by the time they wake up. So, let’s say you need to wake up at 5 am every day to get a head start and need 7 hours of sleep, your bedtime would be 10 pm.
If you are one who enjoys to socialize late into the night, work out your sleep time until it fits well with your daily activities.
Bottom Line:
Make sure to finalize a sleep time such that you are able to maintain it, even on weekends.
3. Migrate to your new schedule
Once you have decided your desired sleep schedule it’s time to move from your old schedule to your new sleep schedule.
This migration may take a week or two, so the key is to be patient and persistent. If your new desired sleep schedule varies greatly from your current one, avoid the temptation to set the alarm clock with a difference of 2-5 hours from your current wake up time on the first night.
Make a gradual transition by making changes to your sleep as well as wake up time by no more than 30 minutes to an hour each day till you reach your desired schedule.
This gradual migration will help to synchronize your circadian rhythm with your new sleep schedule.
Bottom Line:
Make small daily changes to your schedule till you reach your new desired sleep schedule.
4. Maintain your new schedule
The new sleep schedule that has just started working for you is still very fragile and it could only take a few mistakes before you find yourself back at square one.
In order to solidify your sleep schedule over the next couple of months, you need to have your daytime routine as consistent and regular as possible.
Stick to your meal times, avoid late nights and wake up at the same time each day even on the weekends.
Additionally, expose yourself to natural sunlight during the day as much as possible or you might want to consider light therapy to help.
Bottom Line:
Ensure that there are no slip-ups in your daily routine at least for a couple of months till your new sleep schedule has solidified.
5. Physical Relaxation
It is important to relax the body as a prerequisite to good sleep.
The best way to do this is to ensure that your body is ready to recuperate at night by doing at least 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity during the day.
If you have planned a heavy dinner, give it at least 3 hours for digestion and eliminate caffeine and alcohol intake at least 4 to 6 hours prior to bedtime.
Apart from that, a warm shower before bedtime also relaxes the muscles, eases pain in the joints and improves blood and oxygen flow to all the peripherals of the body.
If you have trouble falling asleep, try herbal sleep aids such as aromatherapy or herbal tea to help induce sleep before bedtime.
Bottom Line:
Relax the body with a warm shower and with the help of herbal sleep aids before bedtime.
6. Mental Relaxation
While you might have overcome the physical barriers in maintaining your daily schedule, there might be some challenges that could be imposed by your mind.
Your mind could be in one of two situations — mental chatter or negative associations.
In mental chatter, you could be running a grocery list or a life planning session. Alternatively, your mind can associate negative associations with the events of the day leading to an increase in stress levels, thereby preventing you from falling asleep.
In order to overcome these two mental challenges, it is important to relax the mind and have the right attitude before going to sleep.
- Listen to soothing music to calm your thoughts
- Practice simple yoga postures with deep inhalation and exhalation
- Meditate by focusing on the positive aspects of the day
- Practice relaxation techniques to slow down the mind
Bottom Line:
Relax the mind by eliminating concern and worry and focus on pleasant and peaceful thoughts.
7. Sleep Environment
The final step that plays a key role in helping you fall asleep is the environment.
Primarily, your bed must be used only for relaxation and sleep. Eliminate all distractions such as TV, mobiles phones, tablets, and game consoles. Do not work on your laptop from your bed if at all possible.
Your body associates darkness with sleep much like with light with alertness. Keep your bedroom dark and block out street lights with blackout curtains.
Keep pets outside the bedroom to avoid sleep disturbances at night.
If you are more sensitive to noise, an appliance such as a fan can help create “white noise” to mask the ambient noise that may disturb you at night.
Maintaining a cool temperature in the room also helps. Since your body heat drops to its lowest levels at night, a cool 16-18°C (60-65°F) is considered to be an ideal temperature in the bedroom.
Bottom Line:
Keep your sleep environment cool, comfortable, quiet and dark to induce better quality sleep.
Sleeping at the same time every day has a lot of health benefits: For a growing child it can boost academic performance and for a young adult it helps in improving muscle growth and athletic aptitude.
Apart from just the noticeable and measurable benefits, regular bedtime helps in protecting against cardiovascular disease, increases metabolism and reduces the risk of diabetes for every individual and is critically important for maintaining optimum physical and mental health.