Effective Sleeping

Ever wonder why you feel so tired? Even if you sleep many hours, you still feel exhausted. There are several reasons this can happen, and you can see how to overcome these mishaps below.

First off, it’s not the amount of hours you sleep, but the quality of those hours. Your body goes through a sleep cycle in 4 phases. When it reaches a state of deep sleep, your body is getting REM sleep or effective sleep. So, what can you do to get that effective sleep? Everyone’s body is different and will react different, but there are apps to track that especially if you have a smart watch. The important thing to monitor if you have one  is when you reach certain phases. Your body will more easily want to wake up at certain times and other times not so much. If you can wake up during those phases, you will be much happier. Note, this may be over the course of an hour and a half or so. Therefore, it may be better for you to wake up at 6 hours or 7.5 hours rather than 8. It takes a little experimentation to find your sweet spot.

Many of those who are highly successsful operate off less sleep but tend to stay energetic. How do they do this? Well, there are probably several reasons, but one reason is because they enjoy what they do. It’s much easier to get up when your leaving for vacation than it is to head to work. At least that’s the way it is for most. Imagine if you woke up each morning and looked forward to what you were going to do This whole site is dedicated to help you reach that state regardless of your goals.

Another method for helping you get effective sleep is to have a good diet. Have you ever had crazy dreams and said it must have been what’s I ate before bed? Well, this is the same principle. While your body does use a good amount of energy to process while you sleep, you shouldn’t eat right before bed; especially sugary foods. You don’t want to go to bed on an empty stomach but give it a two to thee hours before bed. If your body is working all night to get itself ready for the next day, you are going to wake up feeling tired regardless of your hours of sleep.

The same goes for what your mind processes. If you are up late watching tv or YouTube or even cramming for a test, the next morning you will most likely be tired. It’s because your mind is trying to process information it deems valuable. So it has to work much harder when you sleep trying to sort through it. Instead, if you need to get sleepy, go for a fictional story. This works very well like a bedtime story. Your mind realizes that it’s a story and helps you sleep, unlike cramming for an exam the next day. Also, it doesn’t keep your eyes focused on the artificial lights. You should gradually allow your lights to get dimmer (I.e. Form natural lights, to overhead lights to lamp lights). This tricks your mind to a natural setting.

There are several other factors that can help such as room temperature. While this is somewhat effective it doesn’t hold as much weight as the above mentioned. So long as you don’t feel too hot or too cold as to affect your comfort level. Around 72 degrees Fahrenheit  has been referred to as optimal, but this can vary greatly from person to person. So, choose a setting in which you are comfortable and keeps your mind and body from working hard all night so you can have a good night of effective sleeping and wake up excited about your day to come.