The world is full of trends; why should sleeping be left behind? One of the trends taking over the world is clean sleeping. No, it does not mean taking a shower before bed. No, it does not mean cleaning the sheets before bed either. It really is just a new term for sleep hygiene, reiterating the advice we’ve been listening to all these years. It focuses on habits and behaviors that can help you sleep peacefully. It is all about adopting healthy sleeping habits and reaping the benefits.
The National Sleep Foundation suggests seven to nine hours of undisturbed sleep every night. Clean sleeping habits can help you achieve this target by giving adequate time to your body to wind down and nod off with less fuss.
Over the past years, people have become mindful of their sleeping habits. What was once a badge of honor—I pulled an all-nighter—is now unacceptable in the new society. Consequently, the concept of clean sleeping became popular because people realized unhealthy sleeping habits cause irritability and reduce immunity. In this article, we will discuss clean sleeping and its benefits.
Why Should You Adopt Clean Sleep?
If you are changing your lifestyle, you should very well know why you must. Here are just some of the benefits of adopting clean sleep into your routine:
- Promotes Healthy Sleeping Patterns: Clean sleep regulates sleeping patterns and reduces frequent wake-ups at night. It helps our body to repair and rejuvenate during sleep.
- Lowers Stress Level and Irritability: Sleep disturbances can make it hard for you to regulate emotions and show empathy. You become irritable and stressed. When you follow clean sleeping, it will regulate your sleeping patterns and can reduce stress and irritations.
- Stronger Immune System: When we sleep, our body rejuvenates and strengthens the immune system. We get proper rest, and our body fights strongly against seasonal infections such as flu.
- Improves Athletic Performance: When you get optimum sleep, your fine motor and problem-solving skills are improved. Even studies have suggested that sound sleep can enhance your muscle power and endurance. It can maximize your athletic performance.
- Improves Brain Functions: Clean sleeping can positively impact your productivity, cognition, concentration, creativity, and performance. So, next time when you work on an important project, sleep well the night before and see the magic!
- Helps Maintain Weight: Studies suggest that short sleep, less than seven hours, can make you gain weight. Yes, it is true! When you are awake, you crave food, and you gain extra kilos. Clean eating habits can prevent these midnight cravings and, thus, weight gain.
How Can You Adopt Clean Sleeping Practices?
That’s a good question and open to interpretation. It is all about psychologically adopting a few simple habits to sleep better at night.
Listed below are a few simple habits that can significantly improve your sleep cycle:
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Eat Clean to Sleep Clean: What you eat and drink has a significant impact on how well you sleep. For instance, sleep quality decreases by 39% in men who consume more than two servings of alcohol. So here are some things you should keep in mind:
- Eat slow-energy releasing breakfasts such as nuts.
- Drink lots of water the entire day to flush out toxins.
- Cut down caffeine after 2 pm – difficult but possible.
- Cut off sugar, alcohol, and fizzy beverages, especially in the evenings and afternoons.
- Cut out on late-night snacks two hours before bed.
- Say No to Naps: Clean sleeping allows you to nap only if you have already slept well. If you have frequent troubles falling asleep, no napping is allowed. You can sync your sleep routine with the sun to make it easier to follow. Early to bed and early to rise! You just have to stick to it for fixed sleep and wake-up time. Also, it will stabilize your internal body clock.
- Follow a Bedtime Regime: You can set a bedtime routine that helps your body relax and ease you to sleep. Before going to bed, you may take a warm water bath (with or without using essential oils such as lavender, jasmine, or sandalwood for extra benefits). You can also treat yourself with a foot massage or choose to use meditative breathing exercises to calm down your body and nod off.
- Turn Off the Screen: Do you also frequently check social media at night before sleeping? We all are guilty of doing it. The blue light from the screen suppresses the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin and can cause sleep deprivation. So, put your phone into airplane mode, switch off your laptop, and turn off the TV one hour before bed. Instead, read a book or write down your thoughts – both are proven to be beneficial in the long run.
Clean Sleeping – Yay or Nay?
It is no secret that having good sleeping habits can enhance sleep quality and help you sleep faster. But sticking to it is essential and is a whole other thing. It is advised to sleep on time, avoid afternoon naps, turn off the screen, and avoid caffeinated drinks and snacks at night.
And if you have the habit of counting sheep because your partner’s snores or your own snoring won’t let you sleep, then you need something else entirely. We recommend a snoring aid such as Smart Nora. Its patented scientifically validated technology can detect early snoring sounds and gently move the pillow to stop it.
At the end of the day, sleep is an important key to a healthier version of yourself, so make sure you sleep well.
