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We're slowly approaching the end of the year and when people normally use up the rest of their vacation time, which is usually the best time to catch up on all your lost sleep from the year and it turns out you can do a few things to improve your sleep even more!
While most of us need between seven and eight hours of sleep a night to feel alert and rested, a recent study finds that nearly half of Americans are sleep-deprived on a regular basis and here are some tips that can improve your sleep:
- Don’t stress about it - If you worry about your sleep, especially while trying to fall asleep, you probably won't fall asleep! Just relax and know you'll catch up on it eventually.
- Expose yourself to light - Daylight sends a signal to our brain that it’s time to get up and be active, so expose yourself to some bright light first thing in the morning and less light (aka your phone) before bed.
- Have some caffeine, but not too much - Coffee helps because caffeine blocks adenosine, a chemical in the body that increases the need for sleep. But too much coffee can lead to a crash and if you drink it too late, can interfere with sleep later on.
- Take a nap - A daytime snooze can help improve alertness and memory, but keep it short, as a longer nap can actually negatively impact cognitive function and make it harder to finish tasks.
- Go for a walk - Even a 10-minute walk can “significantly reduce stress, boost your mood and increase alertness,” research shows.
You can see more tips HERE, but here's to making 2023 the year we stay on our normal sleep schedule!