8 Ways to Stay Asleep Longer at Night
How to Stay Asleep Longer at Night
Not suffering from insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, parasomnias or any known sleep disorders but yet find it difficult to stay asleep for a very long time at night? Or are you tired of waking up groggy and feeling exhausted all day? You’re not alone. But what if there was a simple formula to help you sleep longer, better, and wake up refreshed?
This short article would teach you 8 proven ways to help you sleep longer and better at night. Here are the things covered by this article:
What are the Factors Affecting Sleep?
So How Do We Stay Asleep Longer?
How Long Should You Sleep?
The ideal amount of sleep depends on age and individual needs. Here are the general recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation:
Recommended Sleep Duration by Age
- Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours
- Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10-13 hours
- School-age children (6-13 years): 9-11 hours
- Teenagers (14-17 years): 8-10 hours
- Young adults (18-25 years): 7-9 hours
- Adults (26-64 years): 7-9 hours
- Older adults (65+ years): 7-8 hours
While 7-9 hours is ideal for most adults, the key is to wake up feeling rested and refreshed. If you're constantly having difficulty sleeping long hours at night or tired when you wake up, you may need to adjust your sleep schedule or improve sleep quality.
What are the Factors Affecting Sleep?
To particularly know how to stay asleep better and longer at night, we first need to know what factors influence sleep—what prevents deep sleep.
Ruling out sleep disorders and medications, many other factors influence sleep quality and duration. Here are some key ones to note:
Lifestyle Factors
Caffeine and Stimulants: Coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks can disrupt sleep, especially if consumed in the afternoon or evening.
Alcohol and Nicotine: Alcohol may make you sleepy initially but disrupts deep sleep later. Nicotine is a stimulant that can make it harder to fall asleep.
Screen Time: Phones, tablets, and TVs emit blue light that interferes with melatonin production, making it harder to sleep. Blue light is a type of visible light with a short wavelength and high energy, emitted by the sun as well as artificial sources like TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, and LED lights.
Irregular Sleep Schedule: Going to bed and waking up at different times every day can confuse your body’s internal clock.
Environmental Factors
Noise Levels: Loud sounds from traffic, neighbors, or electronics can interrupt sleep.
Light Exposure: Bright lights, including artificial lighting, can signal your brain to stay awake.
Room Temperature: A too-hot or too-cold room can make sleeping uncomfortable. Ideal sleep temperature is around 60-67°F (15-19°C).
Bedding and Mattress: An uncomfortable mattress or pillows can cause body aches and poor sleep quality.
Psychological Factors
Stress and Anxiety: Worrying or overthinking can keep your brain active, making it hard to fall asleep.
Depression: Can lead to both insomnia (difficulty sleeping) and hypersomnia (excessive sleep).
Overstimulation: Watching intense movies, playing video games, or working late can keep the brain too active for restful sleep.
Diet and Nutrition
Heavy Meals Before Bed: Eating large, fatty, or spicy meals late at night can cause discomfort and acid reflux, making it hard to sleep.
Lack of Nutrients: Deficiencies in magnesium, vitamin D, and other nutrients can contribute to sleep problems.
Hydration: Drinking too much fluid before bed can lead to frequent bathroom trips, disrupting sleep.
Physical Activity
Exercise Timing: Regular exercise improves sleep, but intense workouts too close to bedtime can make falling asleep harder.
Sedentary Lifestyle: Lack of physical activity can lead to poor sleep quality.
So How Do We Stay Asleep Longer?
Having known what possible factors influence our sleep, we can now look at the proven ways to tackle these factors so that we can sleep longer and better at night. These proven ways emphasize hygienic daily routine. Sleeping starts not when you climb the bed; It is controlled by your daily routine, hours before bed time.
A straightforward guide to better sleep that actually works is the 10-3-2-1-0 routine. This rule is all about timing. It tells you when to stop doing certain things before bed so your body can prepare for deep, restful sleep. No complicated sleep trackers or fancy gadgets needed.
Let's break down this routine and more tips to help you sleep better at night:
1. Ditch the Coffee or any Caffeinated Drinks 10 Hours Before Bed
As important as coffee is to the production of nitric oxide (NO), it is advisable to end its intake 10 hours before bedtime. Study shows that the half-life of a single dose of caffeine is about three to seven hours. This means that caffeine stays in the body system for hours, so that afternoon coffee could be the reason you’re tossing and turning at night. Cut it off 10 hours before bedtime for better sleep.
2. Avoid Big Meals or Alcohol 3 Hours before Bed
That extra glass of wine might feel relaxing, but it can mess with your sleep quality. Give your body time to digest before hitting the pillow.
Avoid heavy foods and foods that can cause you heartburn three hours before bedtime. These types of foods can disrupt the quality of your sleep.
3. No More Work or Stress 2 Hours Before Bed
Your brain needs time to wind down. Stop checking emails, paying bills, or cramming in last-minute tasks. Let your mind relax before bed.
To help you relax, you can practice meditation and some breathing exercises, particularly Humming Bee Breath exercise. Humming Bee Breath will not only make you sleep faster and longer, it will help your body produce more nitric oxide (NO) that helps relax the blood vessels.
Learn to practice the Humming Bee Breath exercise to combat your stress.
4. 1 Hour Before Bed – No More Screens
Phones, tablets, and TVs emit blue light—a type of visible light from TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, and LED lights—that tricks your brain into thinking it’s daytime. The blue light suppresses melatonin production. So, put the screens away an hour before bed to help your body produce enough melatonin, the sleep hormone.
5. Don't Hit the Snooze Button in the Morning
It is quite better to get up with one alarm. Try to get up when your alarm rings to start your day on the right foot. Hitting snooze only makes you groggier. The sleep between alarms is of low quality and will only get you tired. So, be consistent with your wake up time.
6. Reduce Daytime Naps
As good as daytime naps are for your health, taking longer daytime naps may disrupt your nighttime sleep—you may find it difficult falling asleep at night. A 15 to 30 minute nap can keep you going for the day, but not longer.
7. Make your bedroom comfortable
Making your bedroom comfortable is an important aspect to sleep longer at night:
Ensure temperature is around 60-67°F (15-19°C).
Do everything to reduce the inflow of noise as well.
Reduce the inflow of light an hour to your sleep time.
Also, reorganize your bedding and mattress to give you the needed comfort for your night rest.
8. Boost Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels which help reduce stress and pressure, making it easier to fall and stay asleep. This factor allows NO to influence the production and release of melatonin, which can help you sleep longer.
Studies suggest that NO plays a role in slow-wave sleep (deep sleep), which is the most restorative sleep stage. This means better recovery and a longer sleep cycle.
Nitrate-rich foods, like leafy greens, beets, garlic, can help your body produce nitric oxide. Also, nasal breathing (breathing through the nose) increases NO production. You can extensively learn how to boost your NO from reading a leading book about NO: Natural Nitric Oxide Boosters.
In addition to the 8 steps mentioned in this article, you can try melatonin-boosting supplements. Note that these supplements are not magic wands, as they are not approved by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—they are not drugs. Studies show that 0.1 to 10 milligrams (mg) 2 hours before bedtime is okay. However, it is better to start on a low dosage.
Give It a Try!
The best part? You don’t have to be perfect. Even following some of these steps can improve your sleep. Try it for a week and see how much better you feel!
Are you ready to wake up refreshed? Let me know if you’ll be trying this out!
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