Getting the requisite amount of sleep each night has been scientifically proven to have a significant impact on a person’s health and wellbeing.
In simple terms, sleep is the time when the body and mind repair themselves from the stresses and strains of everyday life.
Failing to get enough sleep can make it difficult for people to function properly the following day, and can contribute to the onset of numerous health problems.
Your pre-bedtime routine plays a key role in determining the quality of your sleep, and some activities are more effective than others.
Recent research by Betway sought to come up with a definitive answer about which bedtime activities help people get the best quality sleep at night.
Using a sleep tracking app, the study assessed 14 different bedtime activities to find out how disruptive they were to sleep patterns.
They found that meditating before bedtime was the best way to avoid waking up at night and wearing a face mask was second on the list.
Watching a comedy film and listening to music were next in the rankings, while cleaning your bedroom rounded off the top five.
Interestingly, the results of the study showed that there was very little difference between reading a book and mobile gaming when it comes to sleep disruption.
People who partook in bedtime activities such a playing online casino games suffered just 20 minutes sleep disruption each night.
By comparison, scrolling social media, doing a home workout and watching the news were all more disruptive than playing slots or table games.
Speaking with family or friends before bedtime also scored badly in the sleep stakes, while watching true crime or a horror film on television resulted in the worst quality sleep.
In terms of obtaining the deepest sleep, mediating before sleep delivered the best results of any of the bedtime activities.
Participants spent an average of 38% of their total time sleeping in this stage – the highest tally for deep sleep of all the activities analysed.
Getting into a state of deep sleep slows down your breathing, drops your blood pressure and allows your muscles to relax.
With your brain effectively in shutdown mode, your body can repair itself and your immune system can make significant strength gains.
Deep sleep also provides an energy boost, thus providing you with the platform to cope with whatever the following day throws at you.
While meditation finished top of the tree in this study, it is worth noting that plenty of the other activities delivered more than respectable results.
Ensuring you get good quality sleep is ultimately about establishing a pattern that works for you and sticking rigidly to it.
Set aside seven to eight hours per night and make sure that you go to bed at the same time each night, including weekends.
Undertake activities before bedtime that relax you – if meditation does not float your boat, listen to music, read a book or play a mobile game.
Most importantly, make sure your bedroom environment is conducive to quality sleep by being dark, cool and quiet.
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