How To Improve Your Sleep Habits With A Busy Lifestyle
Living in today’s fast-paced climate is filled with never-ending responsibilities such as work, family, socialising, and even hobbies. As such, your sleeping habits can be difficult to keep in check. In my latest article, I will offer a number of suggestions to help you achieve a good night’s sleep.
If you are a busy man about town, keeping on top of everything will often mean that you sacrifice rest to complete your daily goals and tasks. Unfortunately, if you consistently maintain poor sleep, it will heavily impact your overall health. In the following sections, I will provide practical strategies to improve your sleeping regime, even while managing a busy lifestyle.
The Impact Of Poor Sleep
Sleep is an essential element of life, protecting your physical and mental health. If you suffer from a lack of quality sleep, it can reduce your cognitive function, lower your immune system, and even heavily affect your mood (which can then affect your work and your relationships).
It is not uncommon for people who deal with multiple commitments to forgo sleep, which can then lead to chronic sleep deprivation. The CDC states that adults require at least 7 hours of sleep each night to keep their health at an optimal level (yet, in reality, many people fail to hit this target).
Reduced sleep affects energy levels (which can impact activity, productivity, and even your exercise regime) and mood, and it can also negatively damage overall health in the long term.
Medical studies have looked deeply into the effects of chronic sleep deprivation and shown that it can increase the risk of developing major conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and even diabetes.
Other signs of sleep deprivation include weight gain, a lowered ability to perform complex tasks, and a decreased concentration level.
It is vital to get regular sleep, as you are otherwise compromising your day-to-day performance (in work but also normal activities) and setting you down a dangerous path of serious health conditions.
Making Sleep A Priority
If you are determined to improve your sleeping habits, you must ensure sleep is a priority in your daily schedule. During busy, hectic days, it can be very easy to cut down on sleep so you can use that extra couple of hours for other activities.
Consider sleep as a non-negotiable essential, this is the key to maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern. You surely allocate time for family gatherings and important work meetings, so what’s stopping you from doing the same for your sleep?
Begin by setting a consistent bedtime and wake-up time (even for the weekends) that is also easily achievable. With this in place, your internal body clock will adjust and regulate, making it much easier to fall asleep and wake up at the same time each day and night.
An extra tip is to start a bedtime routine that will help you relax and unwind for the day – these can include
- Reading
- Warm bath
- Watching your favourite shows/movies (comfort watching)
- Gaming
- Deep breathing exercises
How to Create A Sleep Friendly Space
It is vital to transform your bedroom into a restful sanctuary, as the area where you lay your head can dramatically influence the quality of your sleep. For a sleep-friendly space, you need an area that is dark, cool, quiet, and free from unnecessary distractions.
One of the best methods is to adjust the temperature (I know from experience that if it’s too hot, I can never drop off easily). Some studies have determined that a room between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius provides the best sleep.
Too much light can also impact any hope of rest, so try to make your bedroom as dark as possible. Invest in blackout curtains to totally eliminate the outside world (especially important during the summer months). Alternatively, sleeping masks can help you get a good night’s rest (particularly if you are sensitive to light). If (like me) you find it difficult to doze off laying directly on your back, you can find the best sleeping mask for side sleepers that will be comfortable (even if you move around at night) and remove any distracting ambient light.
Another area that can disrupt your sleep is noise – commotion in the house, the street, or neighbours can keep you awake. If you constantly have to battle a noisy environment, you can purchase earplugs or invest in a white noise machine (or even load a video producing background noise on YouTube).
Finally, stand firm on making your bedroom a tech-free zone – ensure your smartphone, laptop, and other electronic items and gadgets are out of sight and reach.
Manage Your Stress For Improved Sleep
It is well-documented that stress can impact all areas of life, and that includes sleep. If you lead a hectic lifestyle, this added stress can cause the body to release the cortisol hormone that keeps you awake and alert.
Learning how to manage your stress levels is vital, as it can improve your sleeping habits. Begin by utilising relaxation techniques that can reduce your stress and promote better rest and sleep.
One of the most effective ways to manage stress is mindfulness meditation. This practice can encourage you to focus only on the present, free your mind, and let go of those worries that keep you awake at night.
Before you head to bed, you can use guided meditation apps (found on your chosen smartphone app store) or breathing exercises to help you calm your mind.
Additionally, consider writing down your thoughts and concerns in a journal or diary before going to sleep. Putting these issues down directly onto paper can help clear your mind, making it easier to drift off.
Regular physical exercise can also help reduce stress and improve sleep quality by promoting endorphin production, which helps to reduce anxiety and improve your happiness and mood (but also by tiring you out). Remember to avoid vigorous exercise close to bedtime, as you may feel too ‘wired’ to fall asleep.
Alternatively, you can try yoga and stretching as calming activities that will relax your body and mind.
Healthy Sleep Habits To Use While On The Go
If you live a very busy lifestyle featuring irregular work hours and frequent long-distance travel, it is quite common to have difficulty maintaining a consistent sleep pattern. Fortunately, all is not lost, and there are several methods to ensure you get good sleep no matter what life throws at you.
Attempt to keep your sleeping schedule regular (as much as possible, even across different time zones). A few days before travel, you should adjust your eating and sleeping habits, allowing yourself to align your body with the new time zone (this can also diminish the effects of jet lag).
Even if your work schedule is highly unpredictable, it can help to create a flexible sleep routine.
For example, if you work night shifts and need to sleep during the day, try making this area dark and quiet, reflecting how it would appear at night. You could even incorporate short/power naps to help with any loss of sleep (however, shy away from naps close to bedtime, as you may struggle to fall asleep later on).
Summary
With a little effort and planning, you can easily implement a healthier sleeping routine even with a busy lifestyle. Make sleep a priority and create a restful environment, but also ensure your stress is kept to a manageable level and focus on achieving a consistent sleep pattern. By making a few simple changes to your daily schedule, you can quickly get the rest you need so you have enough energy each day and can focus more effectively.
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