HEALTHY SLEEP 101: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

Healthy sleep is important!

It’s right up there with a healthy diet and regular exercise on the list of “best things you can do to be healthy”.

In fact, it’s vital to every aspect of your health—from immune health to metabolism to daily energy production to brain health to organ health.

Without a good night of rest, your body will begin to break down and stop functioning at full capacity.

In order to help you understand the real meaning of “healthy sleep”, we’re going to take a deep dive into every aspect of sleep, its relationship with your body, what it means to “sleep healthy”, and what you can do to sleep better.

Defining Healthy Sleep

Healthy sleep is characterized by 4 things:

  • Falling asleep within 30 minutes of getting into bed

  • Sleeping through the night, with no more than 1 period of wakefulness in the night

  • Less than 20 minutes spent awake in the night

  • Sleeping more than 80% of the time you spend in bed

Of course, sleep quantity is also something important to factor in alongside sleep quality. If you’re sleeping well but only getting 2-3 hours of sleep, then really you’re not getting “healthy sleep”.

In addition to the four factors listed above, a healthy night of sleep typically involves 7-9 hours of sleep. Everyone has their “sweet spot”, the amount of sleep where they wake up at the end of a sleep cycle feeling refreshed and awake. For some people, it will be 6 ½ hours, for others 8 ½ or 9 hours. You’ll find your “ideal” sleep duration after a few weeks of following a consistent sleep schedule. Your body will fall asleep and wake up at the same time, and that’s how you’ll know how much sleep is right for you.

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For children, the amount of sleep required is much higher. Teenagers will typically require 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night, while babies can require as much as 17 hours of sleep. Sleep habits established during infancy and childhood can often follow you into your adult life, which is why it’s so important for children to start sleeping right from a young age.

When we sleep, we go through a “sleep cycle”. We start off in Stage 1 sleep, which is lighter sleep, and progress to Stage 2, then Stage 3, which is deep sleep. Finally, we end up in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, then start the cycle all over again. Typically, the cycles last around 90 minutes, though they’ll vary from person to person. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night allows for 5-6 of these sleep cycles.

During the various stages of sleep, our bodies make repairs to our brains, muscles, organs, nerves, and other internal functions. Good, uninterrupted sleep ensures better maintenance of our bodies, but sleep interruption can interfere with these important repairs.

While we sleep, our body restores the energy in our cells, fixes any muscle tissue damaged during the day, helps the brain to process and store new information, and maintains the critical body functions that keep us moving and working all day long. Without enough sleep, our focus suffers, our reaction times slow, our emotions grow harder to control, and we struggle to think clearly.

Sleep loss can lead to a wide range of health problems, including:

  • Poor appetite control

  • Diminished concentration and focus

  • Low energy levels

  • High blood pressure and cardiovascular conditions

  • Obesity

  • Depression

  • Elevated stress levels

  • and the list goes on…

 How can you know if you get “healthy sleep” every night? How can you be sure the quality of your sleep is good enough that your body is flourishing as a result?

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First and foremost, you’ll wake up refreshed and energized. You’ll be in a good mood, feel clear-headed, and your mind will be sharp. Throughout the day, you’ll have energy enough for all your daily activities, and you’ll get to sleep at night easily.

If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’ll find that you have a hard time waking up every morning, and you’ll often be cranky and irritable. People who don’t sleep well struggle to focus or have trouble with concentrating on their work. Sleep loss can lead to anxiety and depression, and you may find yourself feeling drowsy or even nodding off during the day. All off these are signs you need to take a good, hard look at your life and improve your sleep hygiene.

What can you do to improve your sleep hygiene?

  • Make sure your room is cool, dark, and quiet, totally free of anything that would interrupt your sleep.

  • Get to bed and wake up at the same time every day, so you train your body to follow a sleep schedule.

  • Cut caffeine from your day; it could be interfering with your sleep quality.

  • Limit alcohol and avoid nicotine totally at night.

  • Reduce electronic device usage in the evening, and avoid bright lights for an hour before you fall asleep.

  • Relax, manage your stress, and find a way to process worries so they don’t become anxieties that keep you up at night.

If you want healthy sleep, these are all vital steps toward improving your sleep hygiene.

Get Healthy Sleep with Sleep Slim Tea

For those who want to sleep better, Sleep Slim Tea may be just what you need. This marvelous tea contains all natural and organic ingredients that will help you feel sleepy at night, encourage better sleep quality, and help you to burn fat overnight. You’ll get a wonderful herbal boost from sleep-inducing ingredients like magnesium, calcium, Ashwagandha, and magnolia bark extract, and you’ll find that you get to sleep and stay asleep much easier as a result.

If you want healthy sleep, give Sleep Slim Tea a try!

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