There’s a lot to love about winter, from the decorative lights to the snow (when it actually falls). For some people, though, this season isn’t the best time of year for their sleeping pattern.
It can be a little tricky to get a good night’s rest in the winter, with people often feeling more sluggish during these colder months. If you can relate to that, you might appreciate these suggestions on how to sleep better
Enjoy The Brief Sunlight
Vitamin D is important for your body, but it’s tricky to get enough of it in the winter. That could explain why some people feel more sluggish at this time of year, seeing as fatigue is one of the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. A way to try and combat this is to expose yourself to the sunlight as much as possible. Take walks outside whenever possible, and keep your curtains open during daylight hours. If this doesn’t help, you may wish to consider vitamin D tablets, but you should consult with your doctor first.
Eat healthier
If there’s ever a time to eat food, it’s during winter, right? After all, just look at how many delicious treats are available during the festive season. Unfortunately, the danger of stuffing your face when it’s cold outside is that you could end up feeling quite lethargic. Eating constantly won’t do your energy levels any good, especially if you’re not consuming the right kind of foods. Try to maintain a balanced diet with plenty of winter vegetables, like carrots and parsnips. Making these into soups, stews and casseroles might be an idea if you’re looking for meal suggestions.
Get A New Mattress
If you’re struggling to sleep at night, maybe it’s a sign that your mattress isn’t right for you. Different people need different levels of support. Plus, all mattresses become uncomfortable after a certain amount of use. Luckily, there’s an easy solution for this – buy a new mattress. If you don’t know where to start, My Next Mattress has a 14-day sleep trial, so you can figure out what size, type, and firmness are right for you. Plus, they’re currently having a Black Friday mattress sale. With the holidays fast approaching, saving money with one of their Black Friday mattresses is the way forward. You’ll be able to sleep easy this winter for more than one reason.
Maintain A Consistent Schedule
What do you do when you’re tired in the middle of the day? Some people try to power through, while others stop what they’re doing and take a nap. If you want to sleep better this winter, we’d suggest not doing the latter. The problem with napping is that it throws your sleeping pattern off, making it harder to rest properly at night. Do your best to maintain a consistent sleeping schedule, ideally one that spans roughly eight hours. You might feel inclined to sleep longer, especially when you wake up tired, but it’s best not to. Although you might think your body needs more rest, it doesn’t actually require any more sleep than it does in the summer.
Try To Exercise Often
There are many reasons why you should exercise often, from improving your fitness to fighting off certain diseases. Better sleep is another motivation because physical activity improves your energy levels. By exercising regularly, you’re bound to feel less fatigued during the day, which means you won’t have any need for those afternoon naps. The only issue is that you need to find the motivation to exercise when it’s cold and dark outside. That can be tough, but if you can get over that hurdle, things will soon be a lot easier. Plus, all that physical activity will mean you’ll be worn out enough to sleep right through the night.
Increase Your Mindfulness
With the end of the calendar year often being so busy, the chances are that you’re more stressed now than you’d normally be in spring or summer. If so, you should probably try to relax more. Of course, it’s easy to say that, and another thing to actually try and do it. Thankfully, there are ways that you can attempt to shake off that stress, even if you can’t rid yourself of it completely. Yoga is always good for this, and there are plenty of mindfulness techniques that should help too. The more you’re able to relax, the easier you’ll find it to nod off at night.
People call winter the most wonderful time of the year, and for a lot of reasons, it is. It can be hard to enjoy the season when you’re not sleeping properly, though, so hopefully, these suggestions will help you rest better at night. We all deserve to feel happy and refreshed when it’s so cold outside.
