9 Quick Tips to Reduce Stress and Improve Sleep Quality for Better Health Naturally

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Ever feel a bit cranky?

Reducing stress and improving sleep are two simple ways to improve your health, well-being and quality of life. Plus, it makes you a much more pleasant person for the rest of us to be around…

Stress is something many of us (myself included) endure because we’ve come to believe that it is simply a normal part of daily life; a by-product of modern living. But that’s not really true.

You will undoubtedly experience stressful events as well as periods of stress during your lifetime. But they shouldn’t be a part of your everyday living.

To learn how to reduce stress, sleep better and have better health naturally, keep reading.

Sleeping Well

Restful sleep is crucial to both your good health and well-being. It plays a significant role in both your physical and mental state by reducing stress and fatigue, subsequently resulting in better health, naturally.

Sleeping is a natural phenomenon, and it is better for you when it is not induced artificially with the use of medications and drugs. Although one needs to sleep well to reduce stress, the irony is that most adults face difficulties in sleeping.

According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), at least 40 million adults suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders. There are many reasons why people suffer with sleep problems, but that’s a topic of its own. Our focus is rather on the things that can be done to reduce stress and improve the quality of sleep in adults to achieve better health naturally. Following are nine helpful tips.

9 Quick Tips To Reduce Stress and Improve Sleep Quality

1.) Develop a sleep routine

Many of us do not sleep well because we have failed to develop a good sleep routine. A regular sleeping regime, such as going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, goes a long way to improving the quality of our sleep and subsequently reduces stress.

2.) Eat healthily

Eating healthily also contributes to quality sleep. So, another way to reduce stress and improve the quality of our sleep and enjoy better health naturally, is to eliminate certain items from our diets at particular times. For instance, eating items like chocolates, or drinking soda, caffeine, coffee, etc. should ideally be lessened after mid-day, and lighter meals and foods like salads should be eaten in the evenings.

3.) Exercise regularly

Another way to reduce stress and achieve better health naturally is through regular exercise. The reason is that exercising regularly helps you sleep well. According to a sleep study by researchers at Northwestern University’s Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, once-sedentary individuals who implemented aerobic exercise four times a week improved their sleep quality from poor to good.

4.) Make your room dark and quiet

Making your room dark and quiet is also recommended to sleep well. The reason is that even the lowest lights that emanate from devices like computer and cell phones can distract us, interfere with sleep or render us sleepless. Thus, you may consider buying dark-out curtains to protect you from nuisance light sources and encourage sound sleep. You can also wear a sleep mask to achieve darkness.

5.) Keep your room temperatures moderate

Your room temperature needs to be moderate so that you can sleep well. You can’t sleep well in an extremely cold or an incredibly warm room. According to research, cold feet send alertness to the brain that prevents adults from sleeping soundly. With that said, a temperature of about 65-degree mark is much more conducive to a sound sleep.

6.) Avoid alcohol and cigarettes

People who abuse alcohol and cigarettes are likely to have sleeping disorders. Although alcohol can aid people to fall asleep fast, it doesn’t guarantee quality sleep. Instead, it results in less restful sleep and more frequent awakenings. So, you should avoid alcohol before bedtime to improve your quality of sleep for a better health naturally.

Similarly, cigarettes contain nicotine; a stimulant known to cause alertness and anxiety to the brain. According to a study at Johnson Hopkins University School of Medicine and reported by Science Daily, smokers are four times more likely to complain of not feeling well rested after a full night’s sleep than non-smokers.

7.) Clear your thoughts

Problems, difficulties, and challenges are simply part of life. Nonetheless, you need to be aware of the importance of clearing your mind before going to bed. You can’t sleep well or reduce stress if you’re worried or suffering from bouts of anxiety and depression. Clearing your thoughts in the midst of challenges may sound difficult, however, it’s not impossible. Allow your mind to rest. Whatever concerns you have can wait until morning when you can start again re-energized and fresh.

8.) Take a warm bath

A quick warm bath before going to bed will relax your muscles and reduce stress and tension thereby helping you sleep well. You don’t necessarily need to soak yourself in water for too long, as just 7-10 minutes is perfect.

9.) Sex

Those who have healthy partners should consider sex before sleeping. Sex is known to reduce stress as well as to relieve physical tension. Thus, it is helpful in aiding you to have a quality night sleep.

These days we all tolerate and live with much greater levels of stress than is healthy or necessary. Use the 9 ways outlined above:

1. Develop a sleep routine

2. Eat healthily

3. Exercise regularly

4. Make your room dark and quiet

5. Keep your room temperatures moderate

6. Avoid alcohol and cigarettes

7. Clear your thoughts

8. Take a warm bath

9. Sex

Reduce your stress, improve your quality of sleep and enjoy better health naturally. Be better, feel better, rest better.

Was this post helpful to you? If so, please let me know in the comments, and then think about who, in your circle of friends, family or just someone you know, that would be encouraged and benefit from this information in their personal journey. Share this post with them. Thanks!

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Kimberly Clay is the founder and creative force behind What She Say. She’s a business professional, writer and editor who’s been creating and managing digital content for nearly twenty years. Her work is now focused in the areas of self-improvement and personal development, and she is passionate about helping other individuals, especially women, to find a path for living their best life.