How to sleep fast?

 

Hey everyone and welcome to my blog 

today we're going to learn about four easy steps to fall asleep fast. Now let's begin number one turn off electronics do you fall asleep with the TV on or maybe you browse social media before bed whether you're looking at your phone your computer or a TV screen your technology might be keeping you up a 2014 study looked at the sleep patterns of over seven hundred teenagers each one used some form of Technology at night the researchers tested participants based on the device they used before bed so one group played video games while another watch TV they discovered that 

all electronics interfered with sleep in 

some way playing video games delayed sleep onset watching TV led to early rising even listening to music increased the risk of having nightmares but every technology had one thing in common they all made it harder to fall asleep and this isn't the only study out there no another study from 2013 found the same results for computers phones and TVs they determined that you could actually increase sleep duration by reducing night time technology use a third study added that turning off devices an hour earlier would significantly increase the length and depth of your sleep so why is technology so damaging well the first and most obvious problem is the screen itself computers phones and TVs emit what's called blue lights which restricts the production of a hormone called melatonin our bodies release melatonin into the bloodstream to reduce alertness in other words it makes us tired this process usually starts around 9:00 o'clock at night the start time can fluctuate depending on when you go to bed but will continue for about 12 hours afterwards ideally melatonin should enter your bloodstream a few hours before bed that way you have time to relax and gradually drift off to sleep but when you're using technology nothing tells your body when to relax it really hasn't had time to wind down because it wasn't producing any of that sleep inducing hormone luckily though most modern computers let you adjust the kind of light on your screen and that way you can use technology without stopping the production of melatonin but that doesn't really mean you're off the hook technology can still significantly worsen your sleep by re-engaging your brain now unlike meditating or reading a book activities like playing video games force your mind to stay hyper alert they require you to be focused and vigilant which is mentally stimulating so when you try to sleep your brain gets confused it can't jump from excitement to relaxation in the blink of an eye just like melatonin needs time to kick in your brain needs time to switch gears so by turning devices off at least an hour before bed you give your brain the chance to unwind last but not least technology can ruin your sleep by interrupting deep sleep many people like to use their phones as alarms they leave the volume on high to make sure they don't oversleep but you run the risk of miscellaneous texts calls and emails waking you up in the middle of the night now on the surface this doesn't seem like much so why does it matter if you occasionally wake up to check your phone well those tiny interruptions make a huge difference in sleep quality your body and brain need deep sleep to store memories and repair itself but you need hours of uninterrupted sleep to get there if your phone is waking you up it's stealing time that your body and your brain needs to rejuvenate number two eat right after decades of research nutrition is still don't agree on whether or not eating at night is good for you some say that eating at night accelerates weight gain while others insist that it speeds up your metabolism it also doesn't help that most real data 

on the subject is muddled by popular 

myths a common myth is that food eaten at night is more likely to be stored as fat a 1988 study showed however that your average metabolic rate is the same at night as it is during the day another myth is that calories are worth more in the afternoon in other words a hundred calories in the morning is worse than a hundred in the evening hmm I hear this one all the time yet no study has ever proved this to be true despite all of this confusing evidence there is one thing that is consistently true eating certain foods before bed will stand in the way of your sleep when people think about eating at night they focused primarily on when they're eating now you might think if your timing is right then you can eat anything without experiencing any negative side effects you might have tried eating an early dinner to give your body time to digest or maybe you try weighing your meals differently you might eat a giant breakfast and lunch followed by a tiny dinner but will any of this really improve the quality of your sleep the truth is that when you eat is far less important than what you eat food containing sugar caffeine and cheese make it harder to fall asleep similar to a blue light they keep your brain feeling alerts which is exactly what you don't want before bed foods that are either spicy or high in fat can cause restlessness due to slow digestion or heartburn even healthy foods containing lots of water can create issues if you eat a bunch of melon or celery well you're almost guaranteed to wake up with a full bladder so instead of worrying about when you eat focus on choosing the right foods bananas will help you unwind by supplying your body with muscle relaxers like potassium and magnesium they also help your brain produce sleep inducing melatonin foods like almonds and turkey are great sources of tryptophan tryptophan stimulates the production of serotonin which directly influences your sleep cycle so when you eat naturally relaxing foods you'll find yourself falling asleep in no time number three stay out of bed you can also fall asleep faster by reserving your bed exclusively for sleep the often eats watch TV or play games in bed.