Get Better Sleep and Increase Your Success

Success tends to be the thing everyone is chasing, whether the goal is climbing at work or finishing a degree. And reaching it asks a lot of your attention. You have to focus on what is in front of you, hold onto details, and recall them later when they matter. Diet helps. So does exercise, and yes, a cup of coffee has its place. But the quieter factor underneath all of it is sleep: how many hours you log and how good those hours actually are.

Skimp on rest and the cracks appear fast. Your mind wanders off the task, and things you meant to remember slip away. That is why sleep deserves a spot near the top of your priorities rather than whatever is left over at the end of the day. A handful of habits can push the quality of your sleep up, and once that happens the rest of your effort has something solid to stand on.

Start with a schedule. Your body does better when it can predict what comes next, so pick a bedtime and a wake-up time and hold to them, weekends included. If you climb into bed and sleep refuses to arrive, give it about fifteen minutes. Still awake? Get up and do something calming instead of lying there frustrated. A warm bath works. So does a mug of tea, as long as there is no caffeine in it.

A wind-down routine signals to your body that the day is closing. Set aside roughly half an hour for one or two activities that genuinely relax you. Reading, meditating, soaking in a warm bath. Keep screens out of it. Phones, tablets, laptops: the light and the stimulation from them keep your brain switched on when you want it powering down.

What you eat and drink before bed plays a part too. Alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine all stimulate the body, so leave them out of the evening. Heavy meals are a bad idea, and spicy food can bring on heartburn that keeps you up. Lean instead toward foods carrying tryptophan, the nutrient in turkey and milk that nudges the body toward relaxation and sleep.

The room itself matters more than people expect. Check the mattress and pillows first. They should hold your body in proper alignment so you are not greeting the morning with sore muscles and a stiff neck. A mattress needs to support your frame; a pillow needs to support your neck. Test a few before you commit to either one. Then there is temperature. A room that runs too hot or too cold makes comfort impossible, so aim for cool without tipping into cold. Keep both a thicker and a thinner blanket on hand so you can adjust to whatever the night calls for.

Put these pieces in place and the payoff shows up quickly. One good night is often enough to leave you sharper and steadier at work or school the next day. Stay with the routine and your memory improves, your focus holds longer, and you move through your responsibilities with fewer stops along the way. The studying gets done. The job gets done.

References: http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-to-sleep-better.htm