Sleep is for the weak.
It’s 3 am and I am still awake finishing this article what an irony.
I used to say sleep is for the weak. It was a sorry excuse I subscribe to when everything was crazy and wild. But now that I am older I take it back. The truth is, no sleep will make you weak.
Before the pandemic, I wish I can sleep at least more than 5 hours every night. But it got worst at the height of the Covid-19 even if we were all locked in our homes with nothing to do and nowhere to go. The halt seemed endless and everything was uncertain. Those were the craziest times of our lives.
Two years after, I only want a restful sleep, doesn’t matter how many hours in, all I want is a good rest.
With this multi-slash generation, we also live a multi-tasked life and our heads can’t seem to stop thinking of things we can do to improve our lives. We take on one more job after the other in fear of lacking things to sustain our lifestyle. The more the merrier.
Sleep is such luxury only a few ever really enjoy it.
So how do we get a good sleep?
I did my research and found these three staples you need to do to get better sleep:
- Establish and keep a consistent time to go to bed. It doesn’t matter what time of the night or day it is as long as it is always the same time all the time your body gets the hang of it.
- Take at least 30 minutes’ time away from your gadgets before bedtime. This prevents you from going into the rabbit hole and wasting an hour or more engaging in controversial topics in your timeline.
- Have a really relaxing sleeping area only dedicated to snoozing. Have a nice mattress that conforms to your body’s needs. Soft and fluffy pillows or memory foam depending on your mood. I have both in case one doesn’t work, I even combine both. A nice fluffy and smooth blanket to caress and embrace you at night (like cuddling a loved one).
- Keep your bed smelling clean and fresh as possible. If you have pets and kids accidents can and will happen. I suggest having a bed topper. It prevents unwanted substances from sinking into your mattress that will make it disgustingly stinky. You can also use this to clean urine on mattress
National Sleep Foundation guidelines advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Babies, young children, and teens need even more sleep to enable their growth and development. People over 65 should also get 7 to 8 hours per night.
Geez, I rarely hit 7 what more than 9 ! I am doomed.
Sleep is important for overall health. When you don’t get enough sleep (sleep deprivation), it does more than just make you feel tired. It can affect your performance, including your ability to think clearly, react quickly, and form memories. This may cause you to make bad decisions and take more risks. People with sleep deprivation are more likely to get into accidents.
But aside from the quantity, quality of sleep is more important:
Sleep deprivation is an issue a lot of people are dealing with lately. People whose sleep is frequently interrupted or cut short might not get enough of certain stages of sleep. If you are wondering whether you are getting enough sleep, including quality sleep, ask yourself:
Do you have trouble getting up in the morning?
Do you have trouble focusing during the day?
Do you doze off during the day?
If you answered yes to these three questions, you should work on improving your snooze time
When all else fails, go see a doctor and get a prescription. You can also take melatonin to help you sleep faster if not better. I take one 30 minutes every night before I feel it’s time to sleep. It helped me some but there are rough nights as well.
Good luck and Good night Earthlings!