Human beings need a recommended 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Without the proper rest, our bodies and minds won’t function at peak performance and can leave us feeling fatigued all day. So, when it comes to sleep, it is no surprise that people take some drastic measures to get the rest that they need.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Sleep Apps
People have looked to technology to help them with their difficulty sleeping. This has come in the form of things that range from health tracking watches and bracelets to phone applications. These technologies measure and monitor your heart rate and breathing, and in the form of apps, can even use their cameras or audio recording to differentiate between your waking and sleeping states.
The effectiveness of these apps can vary, as reported by the experts at https://sleepauthorities.com/sleep-apps-useful-tools-or-useless-gimmicks/. They may not replace clinical studies and the machines they have access to, but they may be sufficient enough to give you an approximate of the data regarding your sleep. This can then be helpful for you to adjust your sleep schedules and patterns.
Light Emulation
There is a natural wakefulness and tiredness that comes with the time of day. Your body will use the daylight to help you adjust your sleep cycles, providing you more energy during the day, and relaxing your body during the evening. Because this natural body clock can change how you feel, people have looked to light, emulating devices to help them stay on a consistent schedule during months of the year where daylight decreases. These items are more effective in the winter months where the days are shorter and there is less sunlight.
Socks
You lose a lot of warmth through your extremities, so people have started and continued wearing socks to bed more frequently to help them sleep and keep them asleep as you won’t have to worry about waking up due to the cold. However, there have been suggestions that sleeping with socks can be problematic as compression socks can cut into your body’s circulation.
It is recommended if people choose to sleep with socks on to help them stay warm, that they wear loose socks unless advised by a doctor. But if you are worried about keeping warm, you might be better off finding a thicker blanket or having a space heater in your bedroom.
Warm Milk
People have always said that a great way to fall asleep is by drinking a glass of milk before bed. The theory behind this practice is that there are small amounts of tryptophan in milk, material used by the brain to build serotonin and melatonin, which are supposed to help you relax and fall asleep. However, there has not been any scientific proof that milk contains enough of these substances to make a difference in your sleeping habits.
Weighted Blankets
A new concept people have taken to trying out to help them fall asleep is buying and using weighted blankets. Having a little bit of weight resting on top of you while you sleep helps the person relax and bring down their anxiety levels, things that can be large factors in sleeping problems.
There are things to keep in mind when purchasing these weighted blankets such as price, weight, and material. People will have different comfort levels when it comes to the weight they can handle, not enough weight and you don’t feel the pressure that will relieve your stress, but too much weight will feel too heavy and prevent you from feeling any benefits of the blanket. Also note that weighted blankets are not recommended for children.
Count Sheep
There is the old strategy of counting sheep. People who find trouble sleeping don’t necessarily tend to count farm animals but use a tactic of mental exercises that are simple, repetitive and rhythmic in order to doze off and fall asleep. This is to distract the brain from deep thought that will keep you awake and engage in something light enough and monotonous enough to not engage you and put you to sleep. If you are using this strategy to fall asleep, keep it to simple counting, no need to put your brain into overdrive with calculus.
There are many more methods, devices, and practices out there that people are using to try to help them recharge at night. At the end of the day, getting enough rest is and always a priority, and what works for you might not work for the next person. So if you’re having trouble sleeping, there is bound to be something out there to help you sleep tight.
If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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