Sleep better and you’ll be more successful. According to research, most healthy adults require an average of eight hours of sleep per night, and are designed for 16 hours of wakefulness. Despite that requirement, the National Sleep Foundation reports that at least 40 million Americans suffer from more than 70 different sleep disorders. A staggering 60% of adults report sleep problems one or more nights a week. Of these individuals, 40% report daytime drowsiness so severe that it interferes with their daily activities.

How you sleep may define your success in life. Sleep affects mood, memory, weight loss, and even disease prevention. By depriving our bodies of restful sleep and proper time to recharge, we risk our health and decrease our chances for a successful daily life.

How to Sleep Better

No More Snooze Button

A night’s sleep is divided into deeper or lighter stages of sleep. The REM cycle, the stage responsible for memory formation and restorative sleep, begins toward early morning. Therefore, it is important to So wake up when your alarm goes off rather than continually hitting the snooze button. You may think you’re gaining few more minutes of valuable sleep. But, because you’re breaking up the REM cycle, you do more harm than good.

More Tips

An American Psychological Association article on the importance of sleep suggests these methods to help get a more restful sleep:

• Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule
• Don’t drink or eat caffeine four to six hours before bed and minimize daytime use
• Don’t smoke, especially near bedtime or if you wake in the night
• Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before sleep
• Get regular exercise
• Minimize noise, light and excessive hot and cold temperatures where you sleep
• Try to wake up without an alarm clock
• Attempt to go to bed earlier every night for certain period; this will ensure that you’re getting enough sleep

Tech to Help You Sleep

With the highly connected lifestyles we live, it is no surprise that there are new developments in apps and fitness devices that also can help you sleep better.

Apps

“Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson” and “Sleep” are apps for iPhone or Android. They use guided meditation techniques to relieve daily tension and assist you in falling asleep quickly. Others go a bit further in tracking your sleep motion such as the products. “Sleep Cycle” is a personal favorite of mine. It’s available for both Android and iPhone. It actually tracks and analyzes your sleep patterns, then wakes you up at the most optimal time for your body – leaving you feeling refreshed!

Devices

Sense, whose creators are currently raising money through Kickstarter, shows much promise. This device tracks your sleeping habits and bedroom environment. It can show what is disturbing your sleep and help you combat the sleep deprivation cycle. Sense has a unique smart alarm system that boasts the ability to detect when your body is naturally ready to wake up in order to feel the most refreshed. For example, if your alarm is set for 9:30, but the Sense detects that you are half awake and stirring at 9:15, the alarm will go off at 9:15 instead to wake you at the best time for your body. The idea is to wake you when your body is ready, not allow for you to fall into a deeper sleep and awake feeling worse.

Another trend, a fashion accessory as well as a healthier lifestyle choice, is the FitBit. The wearable device tracks your daily activity including your sleep patterns. It records your progress and patterns. The silent alarm wakes you up at the optimal time for your body based on your sleeping patterns. It also tracks your daily steps and offers other fitness features.

With all of these options, and a few better habits for your routine, you can begin to sleep better right away. Sleep is imperative to our bodies to not only feel happier and lead a healthy lifestyle, but it becomes absolutely necessary to our success in our careers and relationships as well. Without proper time to recharge our bodies, we are doing ourselves a disservice and limit our true potential. Get back to sleeping well and making your dreams into realities!

IMAGE: CC0 / Public Domain