Rest is not just about sleeping alone. There are times when you feel exhausted and tired all the time, no matter the amount of sleep you are getting. This can be a result of a lack of quality sleep. This is because sleep is not about quantity alone but mainly about quality. Yes, it would be best if you got an average of eight hours of sleep every night but that is not all. Some habits may be ruining all your efforts in getting benefits from rest.
It is not always an easy thing to assess the quality of the sleep that you are getting. There are times when you will be tossing all over the place, and you will be certain the sleep quality was poor, but there are some other instances when you are just not sure. There are a lot of things that we engage in, which can leave us exhausted irrespective of the number of hours of sleep we get, and they are as follows:
- Inadequate Exercise: If you are active during the day, then there are better chances of you getting excellent sleep later at night. Ensuring that you remain fit and healthy will also reduce the chances of coming down with other sleep problems like apnea. So, you will remain exhausted no matter what if you are not maintaining an ideal level of physical activity.
- Exercise Before Sleeping: Exercise is good, but timing is crucial to get the best benefits from your efforts. Engaging in very intense exercise sessions before you sleep will seriously affect the quality of the sleep that you are going to get. Even though some may be able to cope, it is not the same for most people. Excessive exercise before sleeping affects your body temperature, overall metabolism, and the secretion of hormones. All these join to harm your experience at night. If you do not want to come down with exhaustion, avoid doing any hectic exercise a few hours before your bedtime.
- Eating Before Bedtime: Overconsumption impacts the quality of sleep that you are getting. If you scoop up massive quantities of food before you sleep, then you are going to wake up feeling grumpy. You can also experience other conditions like reflux disease or even heartburn. All these will leave you tired, weak, and even lethargic in some instances.
- Starvation Before Sleep: The same way overeating can ruin your night; going to bed on a starving belly is also of no good. Hunger will mess with your brain, and an empty stomach will not give you any relief at night. Instead of going to bed on a stomach that contains nothing, try your best to have some refreshments or healthy snacks like a handful of fruits and nuts.
- Phone Addiction: This is the 21st century, and, understandably, billions of people are inseparable from their smartphones. But what many may not be aware of is that being addicted to these devices impacts the quality of the sleep they are getting. Getting stimulated by the light from these gadgets affects your brain, thus influencing your biological clock via the secretion of melatonin, which is the hormone that allows you to sleep. The best way to handle this is to ensure that you are not addicted to your phone; you dim the lights once you get home and, if you can, make use of lamps instead of brilliant lights. Dim the lights from your laptops, televisions, and other gadgets too. This will trigger your body into a mode that is ready for sleep and quality rest. Stop using all kinds of devices like one hour before your bedtime – this is very important.
- Poor Mattress or Bedding Material Quality: Some may not be aware of this but your pillow or even mattress or the bed sheets can be responsible for your non-stop exhaustion. Old pillows and other bedding materials contain many allergens like dust, dead skin cells, insects, and so on. If you happen to be allergic to any of these substances, then every night is only going to be a nightmare for you. Make sure that you are changing your bedding material and use only new and high-quality ones. Ensure that your bedsheets are washed from time to time. Poor personal hygiene is going to leave you in a permanent state of mental and physical exhaustion. Hence, you have to remain clean at all times. Getting rid of all germs and allergens will allow you to get the sound quality from the sleep you are putting efforts into. Cleanliness is directly linked to your health.
