Coffee drifts through the air, the morning light is dancing through your bedroom window and the alarm set seven to eight hours prior is buzzing you from your sleep. Instead of stretching your arms out to embrace the day, you cover your eyes and hit the snooze button… two maybe three times. Eight hours of sleep? It seems like four. Why do I not feel rested? Isn’t eight hours enough? Do you wake up with these same thoughts? You are not alone. 

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 70 million Americans have a sleep problem, 40 million adults suffer from a chronic sleep disorder and 20-30 million have intermittent sleep-related problems. One quarter of adults, or almost 47 million people, do not get the amount of sleep needed to be alert the next day. Sleep and mood are interconnected. Poor, inadequate sleep causes many problems in everyday life. Irritability, stress, anxiety and depression are common side effects. The NSF reported that effects of sleep loss is even effecting work performance and may be costing employers in the United States $18 million in lost productivity.

Healthy sleep on the other hand can enhance well-being and elevate mood. We spend one third of our lives sleeping. Sleep is a time of restoration and recovery. We want to wake up feeling rested and allow our bodies to fully recover during the night to be able to make the most of each day.

Here are tips for before bed, during the night and when you wake up in the morning to feel more rejuvenated and refreshed:

Before Bed

Skip Coffee, Red Wine and Chocolate

One of the easiest ways to ruin a potential good night of sleep is to be up with an upset stomach. Coffee, red wine and chocolate have been scientifically proven to disturb sleep more than any other foods. They upset your intestines in a way that will constantly wake you throughout the night or keep you in a state of light sleep that will keep you from feeling recharged the next morning. It is best to avoid these foods after lunchtime.

Don’t Eat Dinner Right Before Sleep

In our busy lives, we are on the go all day. We leave for work in the morning and often times do not return home until later on in the evening. Habitually we get home, cook dinner, eat and then it is time to go to bed and start the routine over again. We don’t even realize this is a pattern that negatively affects our sleep. The process of digestions takes a while and your body works hard doing it. Try to leave at least an hour if not two between mealtime and bedtime. See how this makes you feel the next morning.

Mediate, Pray or Reflect

It only takes 15- 30 minutes and can be the best time of your day. Throw your days stresses and worries to the wayside. Do not stress about the coming day before it even happens. The future cannot be changes while you sleep and the past is past, so let go! Meditate, pray, reflect or simply sit and focus on your breathing to completely calm your mind. This will prepare you mentally for a deep sleep without interruption from your own thoughts!

Sleep Better During the Night

Keep Sleep Consistent

We often hear that you need eight hours of sleep to get enough, but that is not necessarily true. What IS important however is the consistency of your sleep. Not every person needs eight hours, in fact for some you may even wake up groggy after eight hours of sleep, but if you can put yourself on a sleep schedule where you go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday you will feel more rested.

Start building this habit by first changing your sleep time. Stick with that for a few weeks and then start setting your alarm for the same time every morning (Cringe: YES even on the weekends).  You should wake up feeling happier and more refreshed each morning.

Cut Out Noise

Do you fall asleep listening to music or with the television on? You might want to think twice about doing so. A study published in New Scientist Magazine showed that your life is actually being shortened by noise during the night. Noise has an effect on the heart and waking up many times during the night puts your body under stress. Keep your room quiet by wearing ear plugs, but be sure you can still hear your alarm or baby monitor

Open a Window

This not only has sleep benefits, but it also has general health benefits as well. During the night your room, especially with a closed window and door, fills up with carbon dioxide as we exhale. Opening a window, allows for the gas to float out of the room, leaving you fresh air to breath in throughout the night.

Also, having a window open can help you to regulate the temperature of the room.

Rise and Shine in the Morning

Drink a Glass of Water

A cool glass of water on an empty stomach will wake you and your metabolism up first thing in the morning. You will wake up faster and feel more alert right away!

Exercise

A brisk walk or morning run will wake you up quickly. It will not only provide you with energy for your morning, but it will actually give you more energy the NEXT day as well. The more often you exercise, the more energy you will have, so get moving!

Get Excited About Your Day

Sometimes waking up to go to work is a struggle, maybe you have a boss that is challenging to work for or a job your unhappy in, but finding what you enjoy doing will help you to wake up happier, knowing you have a little joy coming your way. If you are still in the process of seeking out your dream job, then start your morning out with a sport or activity that makes you happy. Go for a run, play racquetball or take five minutes to drink your coffee and read the paper. Start your day with something that will excite and motivate you. This will drastically improve your day and mood as well.

In the teachings of Buddha said that every time you go to bed you should consider that you won’t wake up. That way, when you do wake up the next morning you will be especially grateful for the day ahead of you. Instead of seeing the day as a burden that you have to “get through” you will see it as an opportunity to do something meaningful and beneficial. If you can live by this principle and apply even one or two of the above habits, you will find your sleep more restful and your days more energized.

© 2012 Inspired Living, LLC

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Keri Murphy and the Inspired Living team is on a mission to empower people to use their unique talents in a way that allows them to Dream, Live and BE all that is possible through speaking, coaching, celebrity interviews and original on-line content. Get Inspired at inspiredliving.tv