How (and how much) you sleep plays a dramatic part in determining how healthy you are. If you’d like to get more sleep and feel better, this tech-related question and answer session can show you the way.
Why Do I Always Feel Tired?
As a general rule, how do you feel when your alarm goes off? Are you excited to meet a challenging new day, or do you start every morning in a fog of exhausted dread? The CDC’s latest data suggests that roughly one in three adults in the US is getting less sleep than he or she needs.
Are You Getting Your Proper Dose?
While healthy sleeping times vary, the experts are unanimous on a general minimum: You really need at least seven solid hours every night.
Why Is Healthy Sleep So Important?
* Because You’re More Productive When You’re Well-Rested
For one thing, you need healthy sleep habits to keep you productive. This can seem counter-intuitive; lots of productivity-obsessed people sacrifice sleep time to squeeze in more work. But Ariana Huffington, who was once guilty of that error herself before learning the real value of sleep, points out how short-sighted this strategy is: “Many people think they can boost their productivity by forgoing sleep. The truth is, sleep deprivation reduces our productivity substantially.”
* Because Being Sleep-Deprived Is Too Close To Being Drunk
Serious sleep deprivation impairs your senses, reasoning skills, and physical coordination. It’s very close to being drunk. As Charles Czeisler, Harvard Medical School’s Professor of Sleep Medicine notes, constant drunkenness is not a state to aspire to. “How many employers do you think would be pleased with a worker who constantly arrived for work drunk?”
* Because Proper Sleep Is Vital To Your Health
A history of sleep deprivation and other poor sleep habits is tied to a range of health problems that include everything from obesity and high blood pressure to diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Good sleep doesn’t just keep your body healthy, either. It’s a strong treatment for a range of psychological issues. Better sleep habits can reduce the impact of psychological stress, give you more mental energy, and improve your ability to keep your mind under control.
Improving Your Sleep Habits With Simple Tech Tweaks.
There are tons of different things you can do to improve both the quantity and quality of the sleep you get including purchasing a new Walmart mattress or buying sleep lights. We’re going to keep things simple here. We’ll provide a few tech-related suggestions that can make a positive impact.
Ask yourself these questions:
* Have you ever fallen asleep while using your phone in bed?
* Is reaching for your phone the first thing you do in the morning?
* Have you ever woken up expressly to check your phone for new notifications?
* Do you check your work email account outside of your regular working schedule?
Most of us uncover some sobering insights when we answer these questions. Ready to make some tech changes? Try these little tweaks to improve the quality of your sleep:
* Separate The Phone From The Bed
Don’t charge your phone overnight using the outlet right next to your bed. Ideally, you should try charging it in another room entirely. Trust us: You can survive this breakup!
* Dim Your Screen
The bright light produced by an electronic device can mess with your body’s Circadian rhythms and stop the normal production of melatonin. Dial down the brightness and try using “nighttime” apps that give your phone screen a red filter.
* Try Turning That Alarm On Its Head
Alarms aren’t just for waking up. Try setting an alarm at bedtime to remind you to tuck your devices in for the evening.
* Disable Distracting Apps
If you regularly succumb to the temptation to surf through videos into the wee hours, you can get help with blocking apps. These disable other apps (like, say, your favorite video sharing service) for fixed blocks of time.
* Nix The Notifications
Has a buzzing phone ever jolted you out of bed? Bad phone! Set your phone’s “do not disturb” function so that notifications are disabled while you’re trying to sleep.
Pick the best-looking tweak and get started tonight! A healthier life is just one good night of sleep away.
0 Comments