Pooja Duggal tells you how sound sleep prevents work stress
Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds — JoJo Jensen
A good night's sleep is imperative for the well-being of human beings. It calms and restores the body, increases efficiency, improves concentration, regulates mood, and enhances decision-making ability. Not having a proper sleep schedule can make you less efficient, irritable, and impulsive which often hampers your ability to deal with everyday work-related stress.
According to the Sleep Disorders Health Centre, when people are tired, they are less patient and easily agitated, which increases stress. This stress can further affect the quality of your sleep and you get entangled in a vicious cycle of insomnia and stress.
The good news, however, is this can easily be prevented by making simple lifestyle changes. Here are a few tips that you can incorporate into your daily routine and say bye-bye to stress and sleeplessness:
Exercise: Exercise releases feel-good hormones, which reduce stress. And since exercise requires physical activity, you tend to get tired and are able to sleep better.
Eat right: A well-balanced diet helps calm the brain and relax the body. Avoid processed foods, as they cause hormonal imbalances. Try not to eat heavy and rich foods post 8 PM, as fatty foods are difficult for your stomach to digest and this may keep you awake.
Music therapy: Listening to soft, classical, and instrumental music can help you relax your mind and calm your senses, which reduces stress and induces sleep.
Meditate: However clichéd it may sound, there is no denying the fact that meditation helps to relieve stress and improve sleep. Taking 15 minutes out for meditation can make a whole lot of difference in your mental health and sleeping patterns.
Maintain a schedule: Make a schedule and adhere to it. Sleeping and waking up at different times can mess up your body clock. This disturbs your sleep cycle and makes you more prone to stress. Design a schedule in such a way that you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Yes, even on the weekends!
After following these tips, you’ll certainly see an improvement in your mental and physical well-being once you start practicing them. I've tried them, and they've worked wonders for me and should do the same for you.
The writer is founder, Healthhunt.in