Why is Good Sleep so Important?

If you read a recent post of mine titled The Bedtime Routine That Regulates My Sleep, then you got all the deets on what I do in order to be able to fall asleep at a decent hour. And you’re also aware that I wake up feeling great BECAUSE I get enough sleep each night… So let’s take a moment to discuss why good sleep is so important.

• Getting enough good sleep will help increase your productivity level. Think about it… When you’re tired, you tend to procrastinate on work/school assignments, you’ll skip doing the dishes because you just want to lay down, etc. These things tend to back up and it creates a cycle of bad habits. Trust me, I’ve been there before!
• Waking up refreshed from a good night’s sleep can naturally help you cut back on your caffeine intake. At least for me, it definitely did! I used to drink 3-4 cups of coffee a DAY – oftentimes from Starbucks where it was also loaded with sugar. That is incredibly unhealthy for so many reasons… Take a moment to check out this article from HealthLine where they discuss 9 Side Effects of Too Much Caffeine to learn more about the importance of limiting your daily intake. Now that I get good sleep regularly, I drink one cup of coffee with almond milk creamer a day – more so for the taste. 😉
• Studies show that sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain, depression, weak immune systems and even heart attacks and strokes. Click here to read more about the long-term side effects of chronic sleep deprivation. Additionally, you can learn more about How Quality Sleep is Important for Weight Loss by checking out this informational article. 

So…. What can be done to assist with getting better sleep?

• Limit the use of electronics before bed. I wish I could scream this for all to hear because once I started doing so, my sleep almost immediately improved! I use the bedtime setting on my iPhone and Do Not Disturb kicks in one hour before I want to be asleep – this was tough to get used to at first but now it’s a daily routine. I replaced reading social media posts before bed with reading books. Not a bad swap if I do say so myself! It also limits distractions from texts and other notifications that might keep me awake when I should really be asleep.
• Remove any TVs you may have from your bedroom. Now I finally understand why my parents wouldn’t let me have a TV in my room! While the lights and sounds might feel comforting, it’s actually incredibly disruptive for your sleep pattern. See article above about the science of sleep for more depth on this.
• Use your bedroom for sleep and sex only. That might sound crazy but I no longer use my bedroom for anything other than sleep and sex so when I go lay in bed, my body knows that it’s time for sleep! My laptop, sewing projects and other various hobbies take place elsewhere in the apartment. This might be tough for those living at home with parents still or with roommates, but if you’ve got neither of those under your roof, I totally recommend you try it out.
• Try listening to soothing sounds as you’re laying down for bed. The Headspace App offers up to 1-hour of sleep music to promote good sleep for free! It shuts off automatically after playing for an hour so you won’t have to worry about killing your phone battery. I used to utilize this free sleeping music so much when I first started getting into a bedtime routine and it helped me tremendously.

What are some things that you do that have helped you get into a good sleep pattern and routine? Feel free to leave a comment and share. 🙂