Sleep plays a critical role in your immune function, cardiovascular health, memory, learning, metabolism, and overall mood, according to sleep studies on humans and other animals. Poor sleep has negative effects on your hormones, exercise performance, and brain function. It also leads to weight gain and increased risk of disease in adults and children. If you have been exploring ways to optimize your health, improving your sleep should be on top of your list as it will have many benefits to both your physiological and psychological health. With the following considerations in mind, you can quickly improve the quality and quantity of your sleep.

Evaluate your sleeping environment

You need to turn your bedroom into a sleep-friendly environment. Even though there are people who can sleep through almost anything, most people prefer a quiet, dark and cool environment for sound slumber. First of all, make sure that your bed is equipped with a comfortable mattress, pillows, and comforter that offers the perfect warmth, texture, and coziness. If you can, try to keep your room away from loud noise sources even if you have to move. If the noise source is internal, such as loud snores from your partner, you can use earplugs or white noise appliances to achieve a better sleeping environment. To block light, you can use heavy curtains, an eye mask, or blackout shades. For temperature control, make sure your room is properly ventilated and try to keep it between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Get more done while you are asleep

There's a lot that goes on in your body when you are sleeping. You have no control over most of it but there are some things that you can control. One of them is lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is when you are able to realize that you are dreaming while still asleep. Lucid dreaming allows you to take control of your subconscious which helps you to get a deeper understanding of yourself. It allows you to interact with the world in a safe space where you can learn, experiment, and create without being confined by the laws of the normal world. It helps you to uncover your true thoughts and desires which helps you find solutions to real-life problems so you can take control of the real world.

Exercise during the day

Exercise elevates body temperature, stimulates important hormones such as cortisol, and speeds up your metabolism. This is great for your body if you exercise in the morning or afternoon, but if you do it too close to your bedtime, it can interfere with your sleep. Try to finish vigorous workouts like jogging or cardio exercises at least 3 hours before sleep and only do relaxing, low-impact exercises like stretching or yoga in the evening. Regular exercise improves the symptoms of sleep apnea and insomnia and increases the amount of deep, restorative sleep you get every night.

Unhealthy lifestyle choices and daytime habits can leave you sleepless at night and adversely affect your immune system, brain and heart health, weight, and mood. By trying the above tips, you can enjoy better sleep, boost your health, improve the way you feel and think during the day.

This article was written by Jane Robertson who is a freelance writer. We thank her for her work.