Ah, the elusive eight hours. If work, children, school, or any interesting events in life didn’t exist maybe we could all get a full eight hours every night. In reality, if we end up getting six hours of sleep a night, we are fortunate. When we are unable to get an adequate quantity of sleep, it is important to make the most of the sleep we do get.

Rest is one of the most important aspects of human health, and quality sleep is required to function properly and stay healthy. Believe it or not, there are simple lifestyle changes you can make to get better sleep at night. Your body can experience deeper, more fulfilling sleep than ever before. With some minor adjustments, it is actually possible for you to get all the benefits of a full night’s sleep in less time.

The great thing about getting high quality sleep is you may find that by making a few alterations, you can actually sleep a little less each night and still feel entirely rested. Even if you could only cut back by 1 hour per night, that’s 7 hours a week, and 30+ hours per month. What would you do if you had the equivalent of two waking days per month in extra time? That would give you enough time to complete one weekend project every month!

The first thing to do is monitor your caffeine intake. If you want to get better sleep, caffeine is your enemy. A small dose of caffeine in the early morning to help you wake up is okay. However, if possible, it’s best to cut it out completely.

The problem is that caffeine takes about 12 hours to exit your system. Any caffeine you consume in the afternoon or evening will diminish your quality of sleep. You may sleep just as much, but you won’t sleep as deeply as you could due to the caffeine.

Alcohol also has a negative effect on quality of sleep. While alcohol may be effective at making you feel sleepy, it also prevents you from entering the beneficial deep sleep that your body desperately needs. One drink is okay, but avoid drinking too much to get better sleep.

Finally, exercise is really the key to getting better sleep. You should avoid any exercise after dinner time since it may keep you awake, but any additional exercise you perform during the day will greatly improve your quality of sleep at night. If you could do one hour total of mixed exercise each day, your body would greatly benefit. Even 20 to 30 minutes per day is enough to help you get better sleep.

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