Riverside - March -April 2022

H E A L T H + B E A U T Y Four ways to improve sleep BrandPointContent.com edited by YourVilla Sta Do you get enough sleep each night? Do your loved ones? Or are you a ”short sleeper,” someone who routinely sleeps less than seven hours per 24-hour period—something known as short sleep duration. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society both recommend that adults aged 18 to 60 sleep at least seven hours each night to promote optimal health and well- being. Increasingly, researchers are finding that poor sleep quality and duration is associated with a slew of negative health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, stroke and Alzheimer’s. So, how can you improve sleep in the face of daily stresses and work- life demands? 1) Establish a sleep routine including wind- down rituals and a consistent bedtime, even on weekends. Wind-down rituals could include bathing at night, turning down lights, setting your devices to nighttime mode or Do Not Disturb, relaxing with a weighted blanket, and cutting off eating and drinking several hours before your established bedtime. 2) Incorporate small, realistic changes, like adjusting your immediate environment with cooler nighttime temperatures, new bedding or limiting evening screen time, versus more drastic changes that may be hard to maintain, like making a career change or cutting out coffee cold turkey. 3) Tie your new routine to existing habits. Behavioral scientists say we are more successful adopting new healthy habits when they are tethered to existing ones. If you watch TV or read to unwind before bed, adding a weighted blanket that elicits a calming sensation through the application of deep touch pressure can compound the relaxing effect. 32 | YourVilla Magazine Coding, Web Design & Game development Electronics Robotics