Sleep Better

A good night’s sleep is the most powerful tool that can keep you in good spirits all through the day. Well, you don’t have to be “gifted” to get peaceful nights sleep every night, there are ways you can induce it. Here are a few things you can do:

1. Activity is the magic word. Keeping active all day can improve your sleep quality. Choose an activity like cycling, swimming, walking or aerobics that you can do for about 30-40 minutes, 3 days a week.
2. Bedroom is for sleeping. Make your bedroom the most soothing and calm place in your house. Get rid of all the clutter, have thick curtains on the windows and make sure the temperature of the room is comfortably cool even without the fan or air conditioner.
3. Choose the right mattress and sheets. Silly as it may sound, research shows that choosing the right sleep gear has a lot to do with the quality of your sleep. While cotton sheets work best in summers, make sure you are comfortable in the sheets that you choose.
4. Relax. It defeats the purpose if you are stressed or irritated or upset before you go to sleep. Do what relaxes you, take a warm shower, read a book or listen to some soothing music. Video games, watching tv and being on the internet do not qualify into the list.
5. Give the evening coffee a miss. Consuming beverages with caffeine in them can also kill sleep.  Make your evening’s caffeine free and lay a good platform to the evening to come.
6. Nap right. If you havnt had much sleep the previous night, take a power nap for about 10 – 30 mins. Wake up and splash you face with cold water. Don’t snooze and don’t be tempted to sleep more if you have nothing else to do. Get up and get busy with something.