Meta description: Sleep is often given the backseat to the rest of our lives. We drink more coffee or sneak in a nap. Bestow is here to illustrate the price of missing sleep with a helpful visual.
Every adult knows they’re supposed to get anywhere from seven to eight hours of sleep, yet one in three people aren’t getting the proper amount. We allow ourselves to side hustle into the evening, or focus on social outings and squeezing every minute out of our day.
Unfortunately, this lack of sleep can come with a heavy price: an increased risk of chronic illness, a rise in stress, and more. Even worse, many people aren’t even getting a high quality sleep when they are resting. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to fix this.
How to Get a Better Sleep
There’s more to being rested than simply being asleep. You need to enter REM sleep, during which point your body and mind can get a proper rest. Have you ever slept a full night and still felt tired in the morning? This could be the lingering effect of not achieving proper REM sleep.
Well, rest easy — there are numerous little changes you can make right now that will help your body get the sleep it needs.
- No phones or blue light before bed: Phones and other electronic devices often emit a blue light. This blue light is great at ruining your chances of entering REM sleep. Not only this, blue light can also wake you up, making it harder to fall asleep in the first place. If you absolutely have to be on your phone at night, turn on the night time mode that will filter out the blue light.
- Avoid alcohol at night: While alcohol may make you sleepy, it actually results in a poor quality sleep without REM. When possible, avoid drinking alcohol too close to bed.
- No water before sleeping: Keeping water on your nightstand can be tempting. Unfortunately, drinking water before bed can result in mid-sleep bathroom trips. Try to give yourself at least an hour between your last glass of water and bedtime.
- Avoid late naps: Short naps can be great, especially if they’re early in the day. If you find yourself wanting to nap later in the day, however, don’t give in. These late naps can make it harder to sleep when it’s actually bedtime. Try to get through the evening without your nap and simply go to bed an hour earlier.
How to Lengthen Your Life with Sleep
There are only so many hours in the day, so the temptation to milk every minute and avoid sleep is always there. While staying up late here and there won’t hurt you, doing it for a prolonged period of time can have devastating effects on your body.
To further illustrate this and to help you rest more and live your best life, Bestow has created this helpful visual on how sleep can extend your life. Follow these tips and you can be well-rested and ready to take on the day in no time!
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