Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your heart and overall health. Find out how to improve your sleep for better heart health.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, you may think you’ll always have problems sleeping, but that is not the case. While many factors affect your sleep, you can also adopt certain habits that will help you get a better night’s rest.
The following are four simple tips that will get you started on your journey to finally get some quality sleep.
1. Stick to a Schedule
Most people only need between seven and eight hours of sleep per night, so make sure you don’t sleep more or less than that. Also, create a routine and stick to it; go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (even on weekends). As you keep a consistent sleep schedule, you will reinforce your body’s sleep-wake cycle.
However, if you haven’t fallen asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed, then leave your bed and do something that relaxes you. When you’re tired, go back to bed and repeat this as necessary.
2. Know Your Diet
When it’s time to go to bed, make sure you’re neither hungry nor full. If you eat a heavy meal within a few hours of your bedtime, you may experience discomfort that keeps you up. You should also avoid nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol before your bedtime.
3. Enjoy a Restful Environment
To have a good night’s sleep, you need to make sure your environment is supporting you. In other words, avoid exposure to light and screens before bedtime. Instead, keep your room cool, dark, and quiet. You can also wear earplugs, a sleeping mask, take a bath, turn on a fan, or do anything that will create a restful environment for you.
4. Stop Napping
If you take long daytime naps, they can interfere with your sleep when it’s nighttime. While you don’t have to stop napping altogether, you should limit them to no more than one hour and avoid taking naps late in the day. Of course, this will depend on your schedule, as people who work nights may need to nap late in the day.
Sleeping and Your Health
Recently, the American Heart Association added sleep to Life’s Essential 8, metrics that quantify cardiovascular health. Sleep is essential not only for your day-to-day energy but also for your overall heart health.
As you apply these tips, you should be finding it easier to get the sleep that you deserve. However, if nothing is helping and you have consistent sleep issues, talk to your doctor to find out if there is an underlying cause for your sleeping problems.
Meanwhile, you can support your heart health by exercising regularly, eating healthily, and taking supplements like L-arginine Plus. Its ingredients promote circulation, blood pressure, cholesterol, and more. Give your health the boost it needs by getting some quality sleep and taking L-arginine Plus.