Snore your way to success by improving your sleep quality

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Lack of sleep might be the underlying culprit of issues with day-to-day motivation, mood, and health. Exam season is around the corner; use the following tips to build a proper sleep schedule so that your mind is clear, and you can better concentrate on your goals! 

A good night of sleep starts with a good daily schedule that will set you up for proper rest. If your day consists of caffeinated drinks, alcohol, or nicotine, avoid consuming at least seven hours before bedtime. If you’re tired throughout the day, try to avoid taking long naps. If you must nap during the day, only take 20 minutes. You will feel more refreshed from a shorter nap than from a long nap. In addition, long daytime naps take away from your overall sleep quality at night. 

Exercising regularly is important for quality of sleep. Have you ever gone to bed with your body feeling fidgety and being unable to fall asleep? Exercising daily uses stored energy in your body, so if you don’t use that energy, you’ll notice your body is not tired enough to sleep at night. However, you should avoid working out right before you plan to sleep. This is because your body will be too energized to fall asleep.  

Your bedtime routine is just as important as your daily routine. Taking a hot bath or shower before hitting the hay is not only super peaceful, but your body temperature will drop faster and you will fall asleep quicker. After your shower, turn on white, pink, or green noise to block out any excess noise that distracts from your peace of mind. These are light, fan-like sounds  you can find on YouTube that help clear the mind from any pacing thoughts.  

Additionally,  put your devices down at least 30 minutes before bed. Your body naturally releases melatonin to signal that it is time to rest. However, this only happens when you are not face-to-face with light. The blue light on your devices will keep you awake. Instead, try reading for 30 minutes before you let your head hit the pillow.  

Are you sensitive to light when you sleep? Wear an eye mask or get black-out curtains to block light that seeps through. If you also find your mind humming even once you finally close your eyes, don’t lay in bed awake, get up. If you lay restless in bed, your mind will begin to associate your bed with not being able to sleep. Instead, get up  and change up your environment before reading a  book with a soft light. In addition, you can try counting t backward from 100, then return to your bed and try again. 

Quality sleep is crucial to your daily function and success, so do yourself a favour and get some sleep!

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