Make It Your New Year Resolution to Sleep Well in 2020

Year in and year out, people seem to make the same New Year resolutions: exercise more, eat healthier, stop smoking...the list goes on. But most of the time, we struggle to hold onto these resolutions for more than a couple of months. Could it be that the reason we can’t keep these tired, old resolutions is that we, ourselves, are too tired?

As it turns out, the missing ingredient to sticking to our resolutions is quite often sleep, something that far too few prioritise. Not only is getting enough quality sleep important to your physical and mental health, but it is also a fundamental key to achieving your goals.

So, in addition to all of the standard goals you set for 2020, make it your New Year resolution to sleep well. Keep reading to learn how good sleep can change your life and tips for how to sleep better.

5 Reasons to Make Getting Better Sleep Your New Year Resolution

It’s a well-known fact that adults should get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. And yet, a 2018 study found that the average British adult only sleeps for periods of 5.78 to 6.38 hours. Many people fail to recognise that this crucial lack of sleep not only affects us on the day-to-day, but can also pose potentially life-threatening health risks, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

But health isn’t the only reason to get serious about your sleep. When you make an effort to sleep well, you’ll notice improvements in every realm of life. What’s more, you’ll even notice that sticking to your yearly resolutions becomes easier.

The following are just a few examples of the life-changing benefits of good sleep.

1) You Perform Better at Work

If you’re feeling unproductive at work, the problem could be your sleep. Studies have shown that our focus and our ability to organise and complete tasks is directly linked to how much sleep we get each night. The correlation is simple: better sleep equals better work. But that’s not all—in turn, this boost in productivity helps you accomplish your goals quicker so you have more time for everything else you enjoy!

2) Helps You Lose Weight

Maintaining your circadian rhythms is crucial to balancing your metabolism so that your body functions smoothly. Irregular sleep patterns, as well as chronic sleep deprivation, send your metabolism out of whack and lead to the unpleasant side-effect of harbouring extra weight. A healthy, well-rested body is not only more efficient at eliminating such excess, but also at helping you make healthy decisions to keep that weight off. For example, a lack of sleep activates the hunger hormone, leading to unhealthy cravings of high-carb, high-calorie foods.

3) Staves Away Stress

Anyone who suffers from exacerbated levels of stress and anxiety will be blown away by the calming effect of good sleep. When we sleep well, we experience lower levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. That means we’re able to go about our day with a level head and avoid overly emotional reactions that may lead to panic in the short-term or strained social relationships in the long-term.

4) Improves Your Personal Relationships

It’s not unusual for our relationships to suffer as a result of poor sleep. In addition to causing overly emotional reactions, as previously mentioned, sleep deprivation also adversely affects your ability to show empathy and communicate in socially productive ways. Studies show that those who sleep well are better able to interpret other people’s emotions and respond to them with compassion.

5) Extends Your Life Expectancy

The NHS is adamant about the health risks associated with poor sleep, such as mood disorders and poor focus, as well as more serious side-effects, like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and more. Taking control of your sleep is the first step to taking control of your life. Getting the recommended amount of sleep each night helps you stave off potentially fatal health problems so you can live a long and happy life.

How to Sleep Better in 2020

With so many distractions in our daily lives keeping us awake at night, getting more sleep is easier said than done. To actually get more sleep and to sleep well, we need to commit to making certain changes. That starts with taking stock of what is preventing quality sleep and ends with making long-term changes in our lifestyle.

These are a few helpful examples to help you get more shut-eye.

• Be more active – Often, the reason we don’t get enough sleep is that we don’t feel tired at bedtime. The solution, then, is simple: tire yourself out. Living an active lifestyle, whether that means walking instead of driving or working out daily, not only strengthens your body but encourages stable circadian rhythms.
• Set a sleep schedule – Your body thrives on routine and having a set sleep time, as well as a set wake time is central to keeping your body a well-oiled machine. Having a sleep schedule conditions your body to expect sleep so it can jump into the all-important REM cycle more quickly.
• Make Bedtime Screen-Free – Blue light emanating from screens on your television, smartphone, tablet, and more is a huge threat to sleep. It hinders the production of melatonin, the body’s sleep hormone, and keeps you feeling awake late into the night. To truly sleep well, you should eliminate screens starting about an hour before bedtime. Say goodbye to your phone and leave the TV in the living room to help you settle in and relax.
• Start a Relaxation Routine – It should go without saying that to fall asleep, you need to be relaxed. So, make a point to do something that calms you down before bed. Take a warm bath, meditate, do some gentle stretching—anything that brings your heart rate down and clears the mind.
• Limit Caffeine and Alcohol – When it comes to coffee, stay away after noon. The caffeine in coffee has a half-life of 6 to 8 hours meaning that, meanwhile, it keeps working to energise your body. Consuming caffeine too close to bedtime, therefore, can make falling asleep an uphill battle. As for alcohol, we may think it helps us sleep, as it can render us sleepy. In reality, alcohol dehydrates the body, sending sleep quality way down.
• Eat Dinner Earlier – Digestion is tougher on the body than we realise. It requires quite a bit of energy, which is why we often feel tired after a big meal. But don’t fall asleep right away, as the process of active digestion has a negative impact on the quality of sleep. The ideal time to have dinner is about 4 hours before you plan to hit the hay.
• Make it Dark – A dark room is a good way to get you in the mood for bed and also prevents distractions that might interrupt high-quality sleep. Even low lights, like those on the power switches of various electronics, can make it hard to sleep well.
• Assess Your Mattress – Mattresses are big-ticket items that no one wants to buy unless they have to, but if you are having trouble sleeping, you may have to. When you wake, take stock of how you slept that night. Are you feeling sore? Did you wake often? It might be time to consider getting a new mattress. Modern mattress brands like Emma and Simba Sleep have identified the most common causes of sleep deprivation and offer mattresses specially-designed to help you overcome them.

Browse our site to read reviews of the UK’s top mattress brands that are dedicated to helping you sleep well. A new mattress could be the key to achieving your New Year sleep resolutions in 2020!