Basics are boring. We know it. Your mother tells you to get to bed early and eat your greens and you can’t help but roll your eyes. But the thing with basics is that you don’t know what you’ve got, till it’s gone.

Imagine you have an amazing car. Full of style and performance. you love it. You spend a lot of time and money, enhancing its appearance, aerodynamic features, leather seats, and what not. The car turns heads as you drive by. However, in the midst of all this focus on the exterior and performance upgrades, you overlook a crucial aspect—regular maintenance and servicing.

Something that is boring and so basic, but yet so critical for your precious possession.

Just like a car needs proper maintenance to continue to function optimally, our bodies and minds need proper sleep.

Actually, the problem is that our body is an incredible machine. you heard that right. Don’t maintain a car and it will start to show signs within a matter of days. But our bodies, especially when we are young, can continue to function well without proper care. For so long. For so many years. So, we just feel it’s fine. It’s all good. Let me complete that extra office work right away. Let me watch that Netflix series tonight.

Amongst all the important things we want to accomplish in our lives, where is the time to think about Sleep? In our quest for success, entertainment, and productivity, we often prioritize external achievements and neglect the fundamental need for quality sleep.

Sleep is so basic that we just take it for granted. Unless of course, it starts to show. But when our body or mind reaches its threshold, sometimes it may be too late.

My dear friends, This article is a wake-up call. To give our body and mind, some respect they deserve. To pause and reflect if we have been neglecting and abusing them.

Let’s dive in.

I am not here to tell you to sleep 8 hours a day without a miss. Life happens, right? If you have a young one, then you would not get sleep. I have been through that myself. If there is a work deadline, or you work shifts or travel long-haul, then your sleep will be affected. Mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds is very common nowadays, specially in the wee hours of the night which again hampers our sleep.

The point is not to achieve perfection on sleep discipline. But to keep this in mind, and do the best we can. To give our minds and bodies, the nurturing they need. We can check in on them on a regular basis and look for small ways in which we might be able to improve and strengthen them.

If You are Doing your Exercise regularly, you have a Healthy diet, and you take care of your mental health but you lack sleep then none of that is going to help you. You will end up unhealthy. Just like

You need to Charge Your Phone in order to use it, you need to recharge your energy levels as well. your body cant keep on working endlessly. and sleep is your body’s charger. you need proper sleep to work efficiently.

The connection between sleep and mental health is also vital and works in both directions. When your mental health dips because of stress, low mood, or anxiety, at some point, it will start to affect your sleep. On the flip side, When you have had insufficient sleep, it will start to show in your mood and your self-belief in your ability to bounce back.

When you haven’t had enough sleep, everything feels ten times harder. Sleep has a significant effect on every aspect of our well-being, so if you think your sleep is not as good as it could be, then it’s worth your time and effort to try and improve it.

We will now discuss a few tips to get you started, if you want to work on improving the amount of sleep, or the quality of sleep you are getting.

Some of these are inspired by the work of Dr. Julie Smith. Again, we are not aiming for perfection and you don’t have to do everything on the list to get good enough sleep. Do as much as you can based on your circumstances. There are times when life happens and it pulls you away from a healthy sleep pattern. But time and again, stop and check in with yourself and take corrective actions if needed.

1. Keep vigorous exercise to earlier in the day and try using the evenings for relaxation.
2. A warm bath before bed can help your body reach a temperature that is optimal for sleep.
3. In the evening, when the sun goes down, keep the lights low. When it comes to screens, the research suggests it is less about the color of the screen light and more about the brightness. So turn down the brightness on screens in the evening as much as possible and switch them off altogether as early as possible.
4. Make time in the day to tackle things you are worried about. Make your decisions, make your plans, and take something off your to-do list. Getting good sleep is also about what you do during the day. We are much better at problem-solving during the daylight hours, but if we push those problems away and ignore them, they tend to pop up at night when we are trying to sleep. So clear the desk and clear your mind as much as you can.
5. Sometimes, there are nights, when, as soon as we put our head on the pillow, our brain switches on and starts worrying about things. Mulling over past events or some future tension. Try keeping a worry list. Keep a pen and paper beside the bed. When a worry pops into your mind, write it down. Just a few words or bullet points. Do the same for any other worries that come up. This becomes your to-do list for the next day. You make a promise to yourself that you will dedicate time tomorrow to working through these problems. That way you are free to let them go for now and re-focus your attention on taking rest and sleep.
6. You can’t force sleep. Making sleep happen is not something you can choose to do. Sleep happens when we create an environment in which the body and mind can feel safe and calm. So don’t concentrate on sleep, concentrate on relaxation, rest, and calm. Your brain will do the rest.
7. Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon and evening. The energy drinks that are being promoted to young people often contain high levels of caffeine that disturb sleep and cause symptoms of anxiety.
8. As a general rule, it’s a good idea not to consume too much of anything in the lead-up to bedtime. This especially includes big meals with high levels of refined sugar. Anything that gives you a spike in sugar levels is not going to help you get to sleep and stay asleep.
9. Try to get as much natural light as possible within the first 30 minutes after waking. Our circadian rhythm, which is our body’s 24-hour internal clock, regulates our sleep pattern and it is governed by exposure to light. Exposing yourself to light for its health and sleep benefits is called light therapy. Indoor light can help, but natural light outdoors is best, even on a cloudy day. Step outside for 10 minutes first thing in the morning. Also, make time to get outside as much as possible throughout the day.
10. Sleep Meditation: Sleep meditation is a helpful practice for falling asleep and enjoying longer periods of rest. It might be challenging to unwind after a busy day, but research shows that mindfulness and sleep meditation can make a real difference. When we hop into bed with our minds still racing, sleep meditation gives our thoughts a break, soothing our body’s nervous system and creating the perfect environment for peaceful and deep sleep.

Please apply the methods and techniques that I just mentioned and experience the benefits such as improved sleep quality, better mental and physical health, emotional stability, stress-free lifestyle, active and productive day-to-day routine & a jolly and enthusiastic mood.

By nurturing our sleep, we ensure that the “engine” within us remains in top condition, powering us toward success, happiness, and overall well-being.