Introduction:
Good quality of sleep is important for good health. The quality of sleep affects your health and mood. The quality of sleep means how well you can sleep. The recommended amount of sleep is between seven to nine hours per night. There may be different reasons for the poor quality of sleep.
What Is Quality of Sleep?
The quality of sleep affects each individual differently. Some might have a good quality of sleep, while some might have a poor quality of sleep. Sleep quality is how well and easily you can sleep at night and how restful, and peaceful you wake up. Some examples of good quality sleep are if you can fall asleep soon after getting into bed and feel rested and restored after waking up.
How Do You Measure Good Sleep Quality?
It is not that easy to measure good sleep quality. However, there are ways by which one can find help to measure the quality of sleep.
Sleep quality can be assessed by:
1. Sleep Efficiency
Sleep efficiency is the amount of time you sleep. This percentage should be 58 percent or more for health benefits.
2. Sleep Latency
Sleep latency is the amount of time a person takes to fall asleep. For example, people with good quality sleep take not more than 30 minutes to fall asleep.
3. Sleep Wakefulness
Sleep wakefulness is when a person awakens during the night after going to sleep. Generally, those with good sleep quality have 20 minutes or less wakefulness during the night.
4. Sleep Waking
Sleep waking is the number of times one wakes during the night. Frequent waking can disturb your sleep cycle and reduce sleep quality.
What Is Poor Sleep Quality?
Poor sleep quality is when one feels tired, irritated, and groggy in the morning after waking up despite having enough sleep. It is frustrating when you have poor sleep quality because it affects your mood, disturbs your focus, and makes you easily irritated. Therefore, one should find out why the poor sleep quality and focus on improving it.
What Are the Signs of Poor Sleep Quality?
To figure out that you are not getting enough sleep is easy, but it is difficult to figure out why the sleep is not good or restful, but it can be found out.
There are a few signs that your sleep quality needs to be improved:
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If it takes longer than usual for you to fall asleep after getting into bed.
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If you wake up multiple times in the night.
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Feeling exhausted during the day.
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Difficulty in concentration at work or during the day.
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An increased amount of caffeine intake during the day.
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Feeling more stressed.
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Puffy eyes.
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Breakouts on skin.
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Feeling more hungry and increased binge eating.
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Gaining weight.
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Having mood swings.
How to Improve Quality of Sleep?
One can improve the quality of sleep by making simple lifestyle changes. There are different ways to improve the quality of sleep:
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Trying to Sleep and Wake Up at a Consistent Time - Try to fix your schedule accordingly. Be consistent so that you can sleep and wake up on time. Make a habit of sleeping and waking up at a similar time to get used to it. Fixing your sleep cycle can help you improve the quality of your sleep.
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Avoid Alcohol - Drinking a couple of drinks at night affects sleep and hormones. Alcohol has negative effects on your body. It can increase the symptoms of sleep apnea and snore. So people should avoid drinking alcohol, especially at night, as it can lead to disrupted sleeping patterns.
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Optimizing Your Bedroom - The quality of sleep also depends on the arrangement of your room, the temperature, the external lights, the arrangement of the furniture, and the sound. You can optimize your bedroom by eliminating external light and noise to sleep better. In addition, keep your bedroom clean, neat, relaxing, and fresh.
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By Optimizing Your Room Temperature - People fail to get a good night's sleep if it is warm. As in summer, we find it difficult to sleep. Studies have shown that the increase in bedroom temperature, as well as the body temperature, has a negative effect as it can decrease the quality of sleep and increase night wakefulness. So you should test different temperatures and find a comfortable bedroom temperature for you.
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Late-Night Eating - Eating late at night affects your health as well as your sleep. Therefore, you should always eat a few hours before sleeping. Sleeping immediately after eating is also not good, as it can disturb your sleep and hormones.
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Relax and Clear Your Mind Before Going to Bed - Relaxation techniques before going to bed have proven to improve the quality of sleep. For example, one can try meditation, a hot shower, reading a book, doing deep breathing exercises, and listening to relaxing music. You can try different methods and see what works best for you, which can help improve your sleep.
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Taking a Hot Shower - A hot shower before bed can improve sleep quality. Instead of a full bath, one can have a foot bath as it also has a relaxing effect which can help to sleep peacefully.
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Rule Out Sleep Disorders, If Any - Any underlying health condition can affect the quality of sleep. Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder affecting people. If you have any sleep disorder, it should be diagnosed and treated accordingly.
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Get a Comfortable Pillow, Mattress, and Bed - A comfortable and cozy bed, pillow, and mattress can help you improve your sleep. If you do not have a comfortable bed, pillow, or mattress, it can affect your sleep and cause other problems like back pain and joint pain.
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Avoid Drinking Liquids or Drinks Before Going to Bed - Drinking liquids before bed can cause frequent urination. Therefore, do not drink fluids one hour to two hours before bed.
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Reduce Daytime Naps - Long daytime naps can negatively affect your sleep cycle.
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Avoid Caffeine Late at Night - Caffeine stimulates the nervous system and worsens the sleep quality.
Conclusion:
Sleep plays a very important role in good health. The quantity, as well as the quality of sleep, is important for the better functioning of our body. Suppose you are facing any problems or disturbances related to your sleep; they should not be ignored but managed correctly.
