Sleep is the greatest legal performance enhancing drug that most people are probably neglecting. - Matthew Walker, Author 'Why we sleep'

Sleep is one of those things that we don't appreciate fully until somehow it becomes elusive.

I have struggled with sleep for a while. It started 3 years ago when I was working long hours on laptops. I ignored it until I just couldn't. On the nights that I couldn't sleep properly, which were quite often, the next day I would have headache and wouldn't have the energy to do anything. Over some time it started to have significant physiological effects. Not getting enough sleep induces stress, stress aggravates sleeplessness; it's a vicious cycle.

I decided to learn more about it and seek professional help. I made a few changes and thankfully, I am getting 8 hours of good sleep every day now. I feel a lot better now so much so that I decided to share about it.

Here's what helped me, in order of their effectiveness, most effective first.

• Consistent sleeping routine

  Try to sleep at the same time every day. This is the single most effective habit you can inculcate to improve sleep quality.

• Eating 2-3 hours before sleep

  Eat at least 2 hours before your sleeping time. Also, eat less.

• Get your vitamin D and Magnesium levels checked

  About a billion people are deficient in vitamin D worldwide[1]. Vitamin D is directly related to the quality of sleep. The other mineral that seems to have a direct effect on sleep is Magnesium. Magnesium promotes relaxation and sleep by maintaining good levels of GABA. Improving vitamin D levels via oral supplementation and taking a couple of Magnesium Glycinate tablets each day has helped me a lot.

• Exercise

  Exercise in itself does plenty of good to your body. Physically exhausting yourself by the end of the day is a great way to make sure that you fall asleep quickly.

• Reducing screen time

  Stop using screens at least an hour before your sleeping time. I have found that the quality of my sleep is inversely proportional to the time I spend looking at digital screens.

• Clearing mind

  Start doing meditation and journaling if you are not doing already.

No matter what you do, get 8 hours of sleep every night.

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