Sleep is a crucial part of maintaining good health, protecting your safety, quality of life, and mental and physical health. Everyone needs proper sleep for their brain to function properly and to allow the heart and blood vessels to repair. Some people have no problem at all getting enough sleep; while others spend hours tossing and turning. If you’ve already tried numerous well-known methods to get better sleep without any luck, there are several unusual ways that can help.
Let’s quickly recap the standard approach to improving sleep:
A Quality Mattress Matters
Your mattress can prevent you from getting enough sleep, especially if it’s old. Signs that it’s time to replace yours with a new mattress include difficulty getting comfortable, aches and pains when you wake up, it’s more than seven years old, there are visible signs of wear and tear such as lumps, and you toss and turn most of the night. It’ll make a big difference if you research quality mattresses to find one that will offer you the most comfort without going over your budget. Test out mattresses whenever possible to make sure they offer the comfort you’re looking for.
Now let’s look into those unusual ways for getting better sleep:
Quiet Surroundings
Sounds can have a negative impact on your sleep; even quiet whispers in the next room can put you at risk of waking up. If you can’t completely quiet your surroundings, you can use earplugs or white noise machines to help. You can also consider sleep music with delta waves, which can help you fall into a deep sleep for resting and revitalizing, regulate your body functions, and increase your empathy and intuition.
Mediate
Meditation can help your life in many ways such as reducing your stress, reducing pain, promoting fast healing, and even improving your sleep. Meditating before bed will help you relax and slow your brain activity down, resulting in more peaceful and deeper sleep. There are several ways to meditate, allowing you to find a method that works best for you. You can try counting backward from 100, allowing your mind to focus on only one thing, or you can practice deep breathing.
Essential Oils
Essential oils can have an impact on your mood, allowing you to get better sleep, relax, and feel better. These oils can be used several different ways such as inhalation, rubbing them on your skin, or ingesting them. Some of the best essential oils to promote better sleep include:
- Lavender
- Roman chamomile
- Vetiver
- Sandalwood
- Marjoram
- Cedarwood
- Bergamot
Experiment with the different ways to use essential oils to find which way works best for you.
Sleep and Wake Apps
Sleep and Wake apps or sleep cycle alarm clocks work by tracking your sleep pattern. Some apps use an accelerometer to wake you up during your lightest sleep phase, allowing you to wake up feeling more rested. Everyone goes through several sleep cycles per night, and Ideally each pattern should last about 90 minutes. Not everyone’s sleep cycles will be the same though due to different things causing individuals to wake up several times at night.
Sometimes it can be almost impossible to get a decent night of sleep due to having a sleep disorder. Certain things like snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, and narcolepsy can make it hard to get the amount of sleep your body needs. If you suffer from one of those common sleep disorders, it’s important to consult with your doctor to come up with a treatment plan. If you don’t have a medical condition affecting your sleep, try changing up your bedtime routine, using essential oils, or investing in a better mattress to figure out the best way to improve your quality of sleep.
