That’s why improving your sleep is so important – sleep deprivation has been linked to depression, impaired cognitive performance, and an increased risk of developing certain chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease.
Fortunately, there are steps that seniors can take to ensure better quality sleep throughout their golden years.
In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the best strategies for older adults to help increase the amount of sleep they get each night. So, if your nighttime routine isn’t restful, it’s time to start making some changes.
Keep A Regular Sleep Routine
Maintaining a routine is crucial for a healthy life and especially important when getting a good night’s sleep. Your body craves consistency, and going to bed and waking up at the same time every day can significantly impact your sleep quality.
It might feel tempting to hit snooze on your alarm or stay up late on the weekends, but ultimately, those habits will throw off your body’s natural rhythm and make it harder to get adequate rest.
By prioritizing a regular sleep schedule, you’ll be able to wake up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to take on whatever the day has in store for you.
Stay Active
It may seem counterintuitive, but the best way to prepare your body for a good night’s sleep is to stay active, even when you’re feeling tired.
Physical and social activity serve as cues for your body to remain alert during the day and begin to wind down when the day is over. Sitting around at home might initially seem like it will help you catch up on some much-needed rest, but it will only prolong your drowsiness and make it harder to sleep soundly at night.
So, get up and get moving, and soon you’ll see that staying active is the best way to keep your physical health and mental health energized daily.
Cut Down On Naps
Napping may seem like a perfect solution to feeling tired during the day, but our body’s natural sleep system may actually take a hit from these daytime snoozes.
While it is recommended that we avoid napping altogether, if you must indulge, try to limit it to 30 minutes or less and avoid napping after two in the afternoon.
Naps can lower our homeostatic sleep drive, a pressure for sleep that builds up over the course of the day, which can impact our ability to initiate and maintain sleep at night when we need it most. So, if you’re having trouble sleeping at night, it may be time to limit those daytime naps and give your body the time it needs to build up that much-needed sleep drive.
Reduce Harmful Substances
As we age, the effects of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine change drastically. They no longer metabolize in our systems the way they did in our younger years.
In fact, consuming any of these substances can push our bodies beyond their limits, causing a variety of unwanted side effects like insomnia and elevated heart rate.
While a glass of wine might help soothe our nerves and help us drift off to sleep, it also disrupts the normal sleep pattern leading to restless nights. So, it’s best to minimize or eliminate these substances to allow our bodies to rest and recover properly.
Use Supplements
For those struggling with insomnia, reaching for a pill to help you sleep can be tempting. However, being mindful of medication’s potential risks and side effects is important.
Over-the-counter sleep aids can cause grogginess and confusion, while prescription drugs have been linked to cognitive impairment and an increased risk of falls. Instead, consider trying natural supplements like valerian, chamomile, passionflower, or melatonin. These options have shown modest improvement for some individuals in small doses of 3mg or less.
Additionally, cognitive behavioral therapy is a well-established non-drug treatment for insomnia that targets negative behaviors and has a high success rate. So, while supplements may be worth a try, avoiding medication and exploring alternative options for a good night’s sleep is best.
Promoting Optimal Sleep
Sleep Sure Plus is designed to help promote optimal sleep and restfulness through a variety of ingredients. One of the most important ingredients included in this unique formula is melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone essential for regulating the circadian rhythm (the body’s internal clock).
Sleep Sure Plus also contains valerian, one of the best natural ingredients for promoting rest and relaxation. These two essential ingredients are joined by another 6, which all work together to provide a better quality of sleep.