If you’ve been having trouble falling asleep at night, you’re not alone. Stress, chronic pain, and other health problems can all impact how much sleep we get and how long we remain asleep at night as we grow older. However, even as you grow older, you still require about eight hours’ sleep each night, so getting the best rest you can regularly is critical. Here are some useful tips to help you sleep better as you grow older.
Maintain A Good Sleep Schedule
Make a sleep schedule for yourself to go to bed at the same time every night. This will train your body to rest at the right times, allowing you to stay in line with your natural circadian rhythm. Stick to your routine even on weekends or while on vacation to avoid sleep disruptions, which will keep you more awake for work and family commitments.
It might seem strange, but even if you might think you could or should sleep for longer in the morning or get to bed later at night at weekends or when there’s nothing, in particular, to get up for, the truth is that this shift in sleep schedule can actually make you more tired and mean you end up sleeping badly.
Develop Healthy Habits
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is critical for getting enough sleep. If you smoke, for example, try to quit as soon as possible. Tobacco has an energetic impact on the body, so even if you smoke to calm yourself down, what you might be doing is keeping yourself awake, causing even more stress. A nutritious diet rich in nourishing fats and antioxidants is also important for boosting your immune system and will keep you more alert during the day, which means you’ll sleep better at night.
A hobby can also help. Rather than spending much of the evening in front of the TV and being passive and inactive, a hobby that means you need to use your brain or body or both will ensure a much better night’s sleep, and it will be fun too. So whether you choose to discover more about how an 80 lower receiver will finish your firearm and make it ready to use or how to create the perfect knitted sweater or how to score the perfect three-point basket in basketball – or anything else you can think of that makes you happy and keeps you entertained – you’ll find that you sleep better. Plus, it is good for your physical and mental health too.
Reduce Your Caffeine Intake
If you have trouble falling asleep at night, it could be the amount of caffeine you consume during the day. Although the cup or cups of coffee you have in the morning are something you might look forward to and that even helps to wake you up a little more quickly, any caffeine you have after around three or four in the afternoon (depending on when you intend to go to bed) could have a detrimental effect and cause you to have trouble falling asleep.
Certain drinks and sodas are also caffeinated and stimulate your body, causing you to stay up longer than you would want, so check the ingredients on anything you might want to consume later in the day. If you cannot live without your coffee, make sure you stop drinking it at least four to six hours before going to bed.
