What Is Your Sleep Profile?

Sleep is crucial to our health, mental and emotional well-being. There’s nothing quite like a good night’s rest and waking up fresh and recharged ready for what the morning brings.

1. The Energizer Bunny - Bounces straight out of bed, fresh and ready - no problems with waking up or lethargy. This bunny is just raring to go!

2. The Zombie - Mornings always feel hazy and you usually feel like you are in a daze. It usually takes you quite a while to actually wake up and feel like yourself, you might come to after your third cuppa.

3. The Vampire - You are not a morning person at all. The best times of the day for you starts after the sun sets and you are at your best and most active late at night. Mornings to you are for sleeping in and anything or anyone who wakes you up from your beauty sleep in the morning can look forward to one grumpy and grouchy Vampire! Beware those fangs!

4. Sleeping Beauty - You love to sleep. Sleep is your best friend and it is never enough. You can literally sleep all day long (unless your prince comes along to wake you from your sweet slumber, that is).

Reasons Why You Find It Hard To Wake Up In The Mornings

Sleep Inertia

Feeling groggy or disorientated when you wake up? Chances are, your morning grogginess is just sleep inertia, which is a normal process of waking up. Your brain does not instantly wake up after sleeping. It usually transitions gradually to a wakeful stage, which typically happens within 15 – 60 mins.¹ During this period, if you are not careful, you can easily fall back asleep. You are more likely to experience symptoms of sleep inertia when you:

Tips to Wake Up On The Right Side Of Your Bed (For Most Days)

Get Enough Sleep

This probably sounds like we are stating the obvious, but it basically is what it is. The main biggest reason why we wake up tired is because we don’t get sufficient hours or sufficiently good quality of sleep. Our body essentially needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night to support optimum functioning.

Relax Before Bedtime

Try and schedule a time to sleep daily, and declutter your mind by settling work or other stressful tasks early, and start winding down at night before bed. You could find relaxing and simple bedtime routines, such as reading a book or listening to soothing music to help unwind. The use of aromatherapy can also help with relaxation.

Limit Activities in Bed

If possible, tune out the telly and the use of your phone before you get into bed. The blue light emitted from these electronic devices interferes with how fast you are able to fall asleep and negatively affects the quality of your sleep too. It is recommended to limit the use of electronic devices 1 to 2 hours before bedtime.

Keep Your Sleep Area Conducive

Your bedroom during bedtime should be dark, quiet and well-ventilated. The recommended ideal temperature for sleeping is about 22 degrees Celsius², but it also depends on personal preferences on how cool you want your room to be. Turn down any background noise that might affect your sleep. If you’re sleeping with a partner who snores, the use of ear plugs could really help you sleep a lot more soundly. In terms of mattress selection, try a medium-firm mattress and mattress experts also recommend replacing your mattress every 9 – 10 years for best sleep experience. For those who are prone to allergies, a hypo-allergic mattress cover may work well for you too.

Mind Your Tummy and Avoid Stimulants

Hunger pangs or feeling still too full from dinner or supper can make it hard for you to fall asleep comfortably. You’ll also want to keep away from stimulants like caffeine when it is nearing bedtime. For some of us who are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine, you might even want to consider staying away from caffeine beverages/foods up to 7 hours before your bedtime. As a general rule of thumb though, try not to consume foods and drinks containing caffeine 3 hours prior to your bedtime.

When it comes to alcohol, limit your tipple to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks for men³. Reduce the need and frequency of night-time bathroom visits by not drinking too much fluids at least 2 hours before bedtime.

Exercise During The Day

Exercising in the day helps keep your body alert and also releases endorphins that help you feel good and focus better. It also helps to regulate your energy and expend excess energies, so you tend to fall asleep easier at night. Ever noticed how children seem to sleep more soundly after swimming or a good length play session?

Sleep Help with Supplements

Try getting some help with sleep supplements! Melatonin , a natural “sleep” hormone, helps regulate your rest cycle. Improve your sleep quality with LAC Goodnight (ZzZZ Formula) (30 sticks) , a non-habit forming supplement with Triple-Layer Sleep Technology that promotes relaxation and calms brain activity for restful sleep.

Getting sufficient, good quality sleep every day is very important. It does not only affect your energy levels but also your brain, heart, sugar levels, immunity and mood. We hope this article helped you identify areas that might be affecting your sleep and shed some insight into how to sleep better and wake up feeling fresh and more energetic!

Reference
¹ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5136610/
² https://www.sleepadvisor.org/best-temperature-for-sleep
³https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/moderate-binge-drinking