Great Sleep is Key to a Great Year

It’s a brand new year and time to make resolutions. Why not commit to better sleep? Sleep is essential to our overall health and well-being, but many of us don’t get enough.

According to the National Institutes of Health, adults should sleep between seven to nine hours every night, but the average person gets less than that on a regular basis.

Studies also continue to show the negative effects of sleep deprivation, like reduced concentration, poor mental health, and increased risk of heart disease.

The good news is that it’s never too late to start investing in better sleep, which ultimately promotes a healthier lifestyle.

Here are three tips to help improve your sleep so you’re well rested as you achieve your other New Year’s resolutions.

1. Make a schedule and stick to it

The busier life becomes, the harder it is to get adequate rest. But our bodies need that time to relax and recharge.

If you’re revisiting your schedule for the New Year, you might as well reevaluate your sleep routine, too. Not sure where to start?

One approach is to write down your wakeup time and then work backwards seven to nine hours to decide your bedtime.

You can even include a wind-down period before bed to help you wrap up your day and unplug from the world.

Everyone’s sleep routine looks a little bit different. The most important thing is that your routine feels approachable to you.

Once you’ve made a schedule, stick to it the best you can. By doing so, you create consistency and form smarter sleep habits.

2. Create a sleep-inducing bedroom

Our beds greatly influence how well we sleep at night. Pillows alone account for 35% of the overall sleep experience.

With this in mind, now is the perfect time to see if you could use a new mattress, a better pillow, or a fresh set of sheets.

As a general guideline, we recommend updating your pillows and sheets every 3 to 4 years and your mattress every 8 to 10 years.

At MaloufTM, we've invested in high-quality products to help you get the rejuvenating sleep you need to support your unique lifestyle.

A few customer favorites include our Peak Sleep System, TencelTM Lycoell Sheet Set, and Talalay Latex Pillow.

There are some things you can’t control, but you can control your sleep environment. So, even on those days when you fall behind schedule, there’s still a comfortable oasis waiting for you.

3. Put away the technology

With the holidays wrapped up, we’re thrown back into the reality of work, school, and other activities—and many of these things require some use of technology.

Because technology is part of our day-to-day, it’s easy to find ourselves checking emails or social media long into the night.

However, using technology in this instance can actually disrupt your sleep-wake cycle and lower your sleep quality as a result.

As a solution, try taking care of those messages before bedtime so you can start to unwind. And remember that most things can wait until the next day.

While you’re at it, you also might consider silencing your device to eliminate the sounds of any late-night notifications.

As you embrace the New Year and name your resolutions, make sure to prioritize restorative sleep. You’ll be glad you did!