29 Aug 7 Ways To Sleep Better
Why Sleep Is Important
We all know that sleep is a necessity, but it never hurts to remind ourselves of why. Sleep is as essential to our well-being as eating healthy and exercising regularly. It is the time when our bodies restore themselves. Sleeping gives our brains and bodies a break and allows us to rest and recharge.
How Sleep Helps Your Productivity
A lack of sleep and poor quality sleep can both lead to diminished brain function, which affects things like performance, alertness, and productivity. In fact, 45 percent of Americans say that insufficient sleep has affected their ability to concentrate.
Contrarily, better sleep has been shown to have positive effects on brain function and quality of life. People who sleep consistently and sufficiently notice the following productivity-related benefits:
- Increased focus and creativity
- Better decision-making ability
- Improved mood
- Sharper memory
Find Your Ideal Sleep Schedule
Have you ever noticed how some people work better late into the night while others are their most productive before noon? This is because we each have an internal body clock, and working with that clock, rather than against it, is key to getting a good-quality rest.
Once you’re in tune with your biological clock, you should try to set your sleep schedule around it. Most professionals suggest getting between seven and nine hours of sleep, but it’s possible that you need more or less than that to be your best-functioning self.
Being aware of your internal clock can also help you figure out when you are likely to be the most productive. You can use Artful Agenda to block this time off and plan out these activities in conjunction with your ideal sleep schedule. You can even block off the time you hope to spend sleeping.
Build an Effective Bedtime Routine
You can train your brain to wind down for sleep by implementing the same bedtime routine consistently. Over time, your brain will begin to associate the steps of your routine with “sleep.”
Your routine should incorporate things that are calming both mentally and physically. Here are seven ideas to help you sleep better:
- Take a warm shower or bath. This helps regulate your body temperature for bed, especially if you get hot while sleeping.
- Drink a cup of bedtime tea. Bedtime and sleepytime teas generally contain ingredients that encourage relaxation, such as chamomile and lavender.
- Light a candle or use a calming room spray. Lavender is a good scent, as it’s been shown to have a calming effect. Just remember to blow out any candles before going to sleep!
- Use blue-light glasses. The introduction of blue light is relatively new to humans, but studies show that this kind of artificial light can affect our mind’s ability to recognize that it is nighttime and our body’s ability to produce melatonin.
- Stop using electronics at least one hour before bed. The screens and lights from our electronics keep our minds awake and alert during the time when they need to be slowing down.
- Write your to-do list for the next day. This is a way for you to physically clear your mind, allowing you to relax knowing that the things on your list will be handled the next day. You can do this directly in the Artful Agenda app!
- Listen to a sleep playlist. Classical music has been shown to help with sleep, but your playlist can also include color noise, such as white noise. Color noise is believed to relieve anxiety and reduce muscle tension.
Artful Agenda’s List section can help you set up a bedtime routine that’s perfect for you. You can keep track of the things you want to try and incorporate the ones you like into your long-term routine. You can also change the Custom List in the daily view to a Bedtime Routine Checklist until your routine becomes a habit.
Artful Agenda is the perfect way to keep up with your days and your nights!
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