4 Ways to Enhance Sleep

The easiest way to determine if you’re getting good sleep is simply by noticing how you feel when you wake up. Do you rise with ease, a sense of renewal? Or do you grip the walls until coffee has coursed through your system? If it’s the latter, you’re not getting the quality sleep you need. Here’s what you can do to enhance your sleep, which in turn enhances all aspects of your daily, awakened life.

4 Simple Ways to Enhance Your Sleep Routine

Exercise:

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again… exercise! It’s so important for brain and whole-body health. However, be careful not to exercise too close to bedtime. Doing so can be disruptive to your core body temperature. You’ll want your core body temperature to lower in order to fall asleep faster. Refrain from exercising at least four hours before bedtime.

Temperature:

Speaking of temperature, it makes a big difference to your body how warm vs cold the room itself is. That’s because the sleep cycle follows the core body temperature cycle. Nobody enjoys falling asleep in room that sizzles. When your body temperature falls, it signals your brain to release melatonin. Melatonin kickstarts the sleeply time process, so you want to be in a cooler environment to help your body temperature cool down too. If the rooms uncomfortably warm, it’s going to be difficult to get into the whole sleep process.

Consistency:

Don’t sleep in. It sounds cruel, especially when it’s the weekend, but a consistent wake-up time is important. Upon wakening, light comes into your eyes and resets the circadian rhythm for you every single morning. If this happens very consistently, then your brain knows what to do and when to do it. Having a punctual sleep schedule is doing your brain a favor. Don’t hit that snooze alarm!

Drinks:

Caffeine and alcohol play a big role in your mental state. After 2 pm, the coffee pot should be out of commission. Or say, cut caffeine six to eight hours before bedtime. We don’t want it to affect the quality of the sleep you’re getting at night, so making a prompt cut off time is crucial. Alcohol on the other hand should be finished about three hours before bedtime. The less you consume, the better rest you’ll get. Of course, not all alcohol is the same. If we had to choose, we’d recommend one glass of red wine every so often. Remeber to always drink lots of water. Both caffeine and alcohol will dehydrate you, and a dehydrated brain doesn’t work near as efficiently.  

The goal is to have REM sleep and non-REM sleep because they both are helpful with memory formation and consolidation in different ways. So try these tricks to get your brain in sleep mode. You’ll be sure to have better nights, and in turn, better days.

Sleep well!

Want to know more about the science behind sleep? Check out our Brain Longevity Therapy Training. It was designed for you to enjoy.