How To Sleep Better and Fall Asleep Faster
Do you want to fall asleep faster and sleep better?
How well are you sleeping? Do you wake up bursting with energy in the morning? Or do you wake up reaching for that first cup of coffee?
It isn’t just how quickly we can fall asleep and how many hours of sleep we get that influence how we feel in the morning. You could be falling asleep for seven hours and still wake up groggy and grumpy.
According to researchers at Harvard Medical School, it is not the number of hours you sleep, but the number of hours you settle into rapid eye movement (REM) and slow wave sleep that affect how you feel in the morning. (1)
The intensity of your sleep affects how well you sleep and how refreshed you are in the morning.
There are four stages of sleep, and you need to flow through all of the cycles five to six times to wake up clear-headed and jump out of bed filled with energy. The fourth stage of sleep is the REM stage of sleep. To enter REM sleep, you need to first shift from the first two stages of light sleep through the deep third stage of sleep. (2)
To understand how to sleep better, you need to first turn your attention to how you live your life when you are awake.
Wake up before 7 am
Exercise in the morning
Eat your biggest meal in the afternoon
Evening Stroll
Goodbye alcohol AND caffeine
Digital Detox 1 Hour before bed
Stretch and Soothe
Black It Out
Silence Please
Unlike in the stages of sleep, when you are awake, your brain is busy analyzing the world and sending electrical impulses. Your nerve and brain cells work together to analyze information from your senses, operate your body and mind, and function in the world.
What happens when you close your eyes and enter a state of relaxation? In this calm state, the electrical impulses cease the regular erratic activity of wakefulness and become slow and rhythmic. Your brain and body need this time to replenish and recharge.
Wake up early to prime your body with more energy all day long and to fall asleep earlier at night. Fall asleep earlier, and you will have the opportunity to flow through the regenerative sleep cycles better to achieve higher quality sleep.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/special-health-reports/improving-sleep-a-guide-to-a-good-nights-rest
https://www.sleepcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Get-a-Good-Nights-Sleep.pdf