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Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in America, so it’s understandable that heart health is important to so many people. Common tips to improve heart health include exercise and diet. The way you move your body and how you fuel your body both have direct ties to the health of your cardiovascular system. But what about the way you rest your body? As it turns out, a lack of proper, quality sleep is directly tied to poor heart health. There is a direct correlation between disordered, fragmented sleep and heart disease, mostly due to the way that sleep deprivation and sleep disorders interrupt your heart rate as you rest. Thankfully, there are a few solutions to help you protect both the quality of your sleep and your heart health.

It’s vital for our well-being to get at least seven hours of sleep each night, but many of us struggle to do so. If you don’t get enough sleep, you can feel it. A lack of sleep doesn’t just make you groggy for one day; it causes you to drag throughout the rest of the week. Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on our personal and professional lives, causing lowered focus, slower reaction times, and poor emotional regulation. You may think you can “catch up” on a lack of sleep later by sleeping in on the weekends, but the inconsistencies actually worsen the problem. Our bodies rely on a 24-hour clock known as our circadian rhythm. When our sleep and wake times are all over the place, our bodies have a hard time releasing the proper hormones that trigger that cozy, sleepy feeling. If you want to learn how to get more deep sleep, discipline is the answer! Waking up and going to bed at the same time every day and night may sound boring, but this practice is critical for improving your circadian rhythm and sleep quality.

There’s a hack or quick fix for everything these days, but do these hacks really work? We’re continuously bombarded with tips to help us get our best sleep yet. They usually include things to implement into our routine, but we don’t spend enough time discussing what we shouldavoid at night to improve our chances of quality rest. For example, have you ever asked yourself if watching that fifth episode of Netflix is harming your chances of better sleep? Do you know if it’s bad to work out before bed? What about eating a large pizza thirty minutes before you plan to turn in for the night? Is that nightly glass of wine really helping you improve your circadian rhythm, or does it actually disrupt your sleep-wake patterns? We’ve rounded up all of the answers by uncovering seven things you should avoid every night for your best rest yet. 

Half of all older adults report that they struggle with their sleep in one way or another. It’s not a surprise that more people are buying and taking melatonin than ever before. Melatonin is known for helping to bring on the onset of sleep. There’s just one issue: the side effects associated with long-term use and high dosages. For example, melatonin anxiety is possible, as the supplement has been found to increase anxiety over time in some individuals. Melatonin nightmares are also a real risk since the supplement boosts the amount of time you spend in stages of sleep where dreaming occurs. That said, if used in small doses and for quick fixes, like to correct jet lag, it can be beneficial. So is melatonin really worth all the hype it receives as a natural sleep aid? Or does it do more harm than good?

Our circadian clocks run on a 24-hour rhythm. Disrupting this rhythm causes fragmented sleep, insomnia, grogginess, and more. Nobody likes feeling sleepy while trying to get everything done on our checklist during the day. That’s why an evening routine checklist is just as important as your daily calendar of tasks. The hour before bedtime is especially important, as it can either make or break your sleep quality if you aren’t utilizing it to relax and prepare for the night. Getting your eight hours is important, but if your eight hours aren’t full of quality sleep, you’re missing out. That’s why we’ve gathered seven things to do in the hour before bedtime to improve your sleep quality, duration, physical well-being, and mental health.

Why do so many people find themselves waking up tired after eight hours of sleep? If eight hours is the recommended amount, why do so many people still feel groggy, irritable, and weary after sleeping all night long? As it turns out, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for the amount of sleep we each need. Some people may need more, while others need less. Furthermore, if the sleep you’re getting isn’t quality, restorative sleep, you’ll rack up a sleep debt and face the dangers of sleep deprivation. Genetics plays a role in the amount of sleep you need and finding the sweet spot depends on how you feel in the morning. Huberman Lab sleep recommendations may help you increase the amount of quality sleep you get each night, along with mouth taping for improved airway function as you rest

Bad dreams are distressing. When you wake up from a bad dream, like dreaming of fire, you’re likely thankful that it wasn’t real. However, dreams can also be so happy that we feel we never want to wake up. Sometimes they’re just outright strange, like when you try to run in a dream and your legs feel like they’re weighed down with cinder blocks. Whether they’re good or bad, dreams might help us prepare for the future. More specifically, distressing or embarrassing dreams help simulate threats and protect our brains to be better prepared to deal with them in real life. But when the distressing dreams start to disrupt sleep altogether, they begin to do more harm than good by causing sleep deprivation. Those who have experienced traumatic events may relive them involuntarily in their dreams each night, which only causes even more mental anguish. So what purpose do dreams truly serve?

Food is fuel. It makes sense that the quality of our health is reflected in the quality of foods we choose to eat. But did you know that the foods you eat are directly tied to how you sleep? Some foods are known to irritate sleep, while others are known to help us fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. In patients with sleep disorders, nutrition may even be part of their treatment plan. Certain sleep apnea diets may help to manage the disorder, along with the use of a CPAP machine, for example. We’ve rounded up five foods that help with sleep that you can munch on before bed whether you suffer from an official sleep disorder or not. And some of the foods proven to boost sleep may surprise you!

Counting sheep doesn’t work for most. Not only do a huge number of people experience sleep disturbances and disorders, but we’re also chronically low on a number of vitamins and nutrients. Is there a link between the two? Researchers think so. For example, over one billion of us are deficient in vitamin D, while half of all Americans suffer from a magnesium deficiency. In theory, boosting vitamin D intake or taking magnesium oil for sleep should work, right? The answer isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. However, if you’re chronically low on a specific nutrient, supplementation is sure to boost your time spent sleeping and overall quality of life. That’s why we’ve gathered science-backed recommendations for the top ten supplements to try for improved sleep.

Sleep is weird. Why do we need to lay unconscious, unable to move for eight hours each night? We all sleep, but some people have a harder time than others. What purpose does sleep serve and why does it come easier to some than others? While we have many theories, we still don’t have one definitive answer that explains everything. Rather, there are several potential answers. Dr. Guy Leschziner provides many interpretations in his book “The Nocturnal Brain.” Each phase of sleep serves a specific purpose, and if we aren’t spending adequate amounts of time in each phase, our brains and bodies can’t restore themselves. However, these issues can’t go unaddressed. In severe cases, sleep deprivation is known to cause illness, inflammation, and disease. The neuroscience behind rest proves that if you’re not getting proper sleep, you need to address the issue sooner rather than later.

Imagine the feeling of TV static in your legs, similar to when a limb falls asleep after you’ve been sitting too long, but it won’t go away no matter what you do. No one wants to feel pins and needles, pain, itching, aching, throbbing, and creepy-crawly sensations up and down their legs. Those with restless leg syndrome suffer from these sensations each night. But what is restless leg syndrome? What causes these pesky, irritating, uncomfortable feelings in the legs? Why does it only happen at night or while at rest and what can you do to put an end to it for good? We’ve rounded up the top three causes of restless legs at night to help you better understand the condition and take action to improve your restless leg syndrome symptoms and get the quality night’s sleep you deserve.

Whether you dream often or very little, we’ve all had similar dreams about different situations and events throughout our lives. Dreams can be so intense that even moments after waking, they feel like a reality. Sometimes, realizing that it was “all just a dream” is distressing, especially if your dream was particularly happy. Other times, dreams themselves are distressing and anxiety-inducing, especially if you dream of a natural disaster, such as a tornado. So what is the meaning behind our dreams? Why do we have them in the first place and what purpose do they serve? Why do we have both happy dreams and terrifying dreams? These questions have puzzled philosophers and scientists for years. While we still don’t have one solid answer, many popular theories give an important peek into the potential purpose of dreams.