12 Useful Tips To Recover From A Sleepless Night

A wonderful saying from Thomas Dekker goes, “Sleep is the golden chain that binds health and our bodies together.” Sleep is highly essential for each of us. However, every night is not the same. Maybe the work pressure, or college assignments, or maybe your little one keeping you awake, at times you might suffer from sleepless nights. Sometimes it gets too hard to go through the next day if you could not sleep the night. Are you someone who had a sleepless night and wants to recover from it and take your next day normally? In the following array of the article, we will be talking about some of the tips to recover from a sleepless night.

12 Useful Tips To Recover From A Sleepless Night

It is noted by the American Sleep Association that many Americans experience sleepless nights usually, and around 35% of adults report receiving seven hours of sleep every night. ⁽¹⁾

A study from the year 2016 shows that it takes four days to completely recover from one hour of sleep that is lost. ⁽²⁾

When we fail to sleep one night, we start experiencing many problems like headaches, tiredness, and body aches. Moreover, not getting the appropriate amount of sleep can also impact our mood, and make it difficult to focus or remain alert. One of the obvious remedies to these health problems is to get more sleep. However, certain other tips can also help to recover from a sleepless night.

Get Back To Your Normal Sleep Routine The Next Night

One of the most important tips that should be followed to recover from a sleepless night is to get back to your normal sleep routine the next night. Try to sleep in your usual sleep time the next night and follow the same further. Try to maintain this normal sleep routine regularly if possible.
Avoid Sleeping During The Next Morning

It is obvious that if you went through a sleepless night, then the next morning you might be feeling sleepy. However, you should try to avoid sleeping the next morning or even during the daytime. This would help you sleep properly the night following your sleepless night.
If Required, Take A Power Nap During The Day

You should not sleep during the day, but taking a power nap the next day would be fine. A power nap is usually a short and effective nap that lasts 10 to 20 minutes long.

A nap of 5-minute is extremely short to provide any benefit,⁽³⁾ while a 30-minute nap would be extremely long. ⁽⁴⁾ So, the best power nap duration would be 10 to 20 minutes.

It is found that taking these power naps help individual feel less sleepy, get an improved memory, and also help in regulating emotions. ^{(5, 6, 7)}
Eat Healthy Meals

Even one night of sleep deprivation affects how you select which foods to eat. ⁽⁸⁾ Lack of sleep impacts our brains in a certain way that prompts us to eat less healthy food and intake calorie-rich foods, which is why insomnia is linked with obesity. ⁽⁹⁾

Sugary foods can give you an initial boost of energy, they can lower your energy later on. ⁽¹⁰⁾ It is demonstrated that some healthy foods like vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and foods packed with omega-3 fatty acids( like fish, nuts, and seeds), help in reducing the severity of chronic fatigue. ⁽¹¹⁾

Foods that are loaded with tyrosine can enhance cognitive ability. ⁽¹²⁾ These foods include meat, eggs, milk, tofu, and whole grains.
Strategically Use Caffeine

Caffeine can boost your energy level when you need it. However, it is not a substitute for adequate sleep. Ingesting caffeine can enhance cognitive ability and improve physical performance significantly. ⁽¹³⁾

There might be risks associated with excessive consumption of caffeine. However, around 400 mg of caffeine every day or around 4-5 cups of coffee could be safe for most people.

Different factors affect one’s sensitivity to caffeine. Smokers are likely to metabolize caffeine faster than non-smokers, and pregnant women metabolize caffeine slower than non-pregnant women. ⁽¹⁴⁾
Spend Time Outside With The Nature

One of the best things that can be done in the morning next to your sleepless night could be spending time outside with nature in bright light. This would help you stay awake during the day and help you sleep on time. It is also believed that eating your lunch outside or taking a quick walk at the midday would enhance your energy.
Try To Get Physically Active and Do Exercise

It is indeed that after a sleepless night, you might be feeling tired. However, if you remain physically active and do certain exercises, your overall mood and energy would increase and you might even get better and uninterrupted sleep the next night. If you are excessively tired to go for a complete workout then you can even go for a short walk.
Remain Well Hydrated

One of the important tips to recover from a sleepless night is to stay well hydrated. When you are deprived of sleep, you need to drink lots of water since your body cells need more water as they are working harder to take care of you. Moreover, dehydration will leave you feeling more lethargic.
Take A Contrast Shower

You can go for a contrast shower the next morning after a sleepless night, which would help your body wake up when you go for a hot and then a cold water shower. The hot water dilates your blood vessels, thus allowing the blood to rush out to your extremities, while the cold water constricts the blood vessels and forces your blood to the core vital organs. Your blood circulation increases when you repeat this three to five times and provides you enough energy and increases your alertness.
Practice Relaxation Techniques

You might feel irritable and stressed if you have not slept the entire night. To combat this stress, you need to practice some relaxation techniques and keep your mind and body active and ready for the day. You can go for meditation and some breathing exercises that would keep you stress-free and help you deal with any tension that your body might be holding.
Try Binaural Therapy

Binaural therapy could be beneficial for you if you need to recover from a sleepless night. You will achieve heightened alertness after a sleepless night if you listen to binaural beats in your earbuds. When the left and the right ear listen to two tones at slightly different sound frequencies, they start perceiving a new and single tone with a frequency that is equal to the difference between the two. Your brain gets more alert and you will be having an enhanced level of concentration.
Adopt A Positive And Realistic Attitude

We all have a bad day or a sleepless night. You might be struggling to stay alert the day after a sleepless night. However, you should not beat yourself up about it, rather you need to be able to enjoy the next day without feeling stressed about the last night.

Final Words

With all the above-mentioned tips, you can prepare yourself for a better and more energetic day after a sleepless night. However, keep it noted that if you start struggling with sleepless nights or get sleep deprived for more than three days, then without any delay, consult with your doctor and take essential treatments.

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12 Useful Tips To Recover From A Sleepless Night