Kabir Siddiq suggests some practises you can adopt for fulfilling shut eye at night

With the unprecedented turmoil from the global pandemic, being anxious about your loved ones’ wellbeing has affected your health. The vitality of sleep is usually sacrificed during such stressful situations. Sleep is vital to physical health and for the effective functioning of the immune system. A key promoter of emotional wellness and mental health, restful sleep helps fight back stress, depression and anxiety. With increased stress and anxiety, there is an increased impact on sleep patterns and the best way to improve your sleep is to stick with good sleep habits.

A good night’s worth of sleep strengthens your body’s defence and empowers you to build an effective immune system. This critical biological process contributes to complex thinking, learning, memory and decision making, heightening our brain’s functions.

While it can also effectively enhance your mood and improve mental health, lack of sleep causes irritation, low energy levels, feelings of depression.

Getting consistent, high-quality sleep improves all aspects of health which is why it is arguably more important than ever in the backdrop of the pandemic. A healthy sleeping schedule is the fruit of consistency and effort. However, it should come ease to you, if you abide by the following:

• Your bed should only be reserved for sleeping, avoid bringing a laptop, food or games to bed! Create a cosy bed environment to help your purpose of sleeping better. Keep your bed well organised and clean at all times, fluff your pillow, change your sheets. And most importantly, invest in a mattress that contributes to your restful sleep.
• Build a sleep schedule for yourself. Define sleep specific tasks and stick to the routine. Set yourself a sleep alarm that helps you wind down every night.
• Your daytime eating habits have a major impact on your body and your sleep! Limit your intake of caffeine, sugar and carbs not just to sleep better, but also for a healthier body.
• Meditation and exercise are major contributors that help you get restful sleep and also contribute to a healthy body and mind. However, engaging in vigorous exertion of any sort less than two hours before bedtime may affect your sleep. Deep breathing and light stretching before bedtime will push the mind and body into a restful slumber.
• Lastly, but most importantly, let go of stress, anger and worry before sleeping. Develop bedtime rituals that help you clear your thoughts and invest your time in journaling or use a weighted blanket to unwind and get restful sleep.

(The author is founder and CEO of a luxury sleeping mattresses brand.)