As the new year is approaching, everyone making their new year resolutions, most of which are activities that involve creating a new habit. For many of us, that might include getting longer and more restful sleep. This is a great new habit since good sleep creates a better mind and headscape to go about our days more productively and happily. It also creates the perfect breeding ground of more good habits.
So how do we create the habit of better sleep? A study showed that 45% of our daily activities are automatic, meaning our brains are trained to perform a specific activity at a specific time and location. This can be brushing your teeth, meal times, and gym habits. When we do an activity long enough to build a habit out of, our brain wires itself to follow that habit. Bring this back to sleep, we need to cultivate our brain so that our sleep habit is within this 45% control.
There is a three step loop to create a habit: a cue, a routine, and a reward. When you repeat this process enough times, your brain will sense the cue and immediately anticipate the reward and vice versa. Relating this back to sleep, it's important to create a cue for yourself to tell your body to start winding down for sleep. Then you need to create a pre-sleep routine. Lastly, the reward is peaceful sleep.
An example of this is using brushing your teeth as a cue for sleep. Create a routine of journaling or reading a chapter of a book in bed, and allowing sleep to drifting over you over the course of journaling/reading. Obviously this is highly personable so create a three step loop that works for you.
Another aspect that can help you with better sleep is a new and better mattress. At Fox Mattress, this is our specialty and we can help you find your perfect match! Visit our website or call us to reach one of our professional and friendly staff to learn how to get better sleep this New Years!
Comentarios