Want to Live Well? Know Your Sleep Personality

There are 8 types of personalities that tell you what kind of sleeper you are. You could be one of the following:

• Light-averse Sleeper

• Brain Buzz Sleeper

• Light Sleeper

• Early Bird

• Night Owl

• Sleepy Head

• Shift Sleeper

• Situational Sleeper

Just looking at their names, you might think you know what they mean. You’re not wrong. But they also mean a lot more. Here’s why delving deeper is worth it.

Knowing your sleep personality reveals the core issues that affect your sleep quality. These include a wide range of factors, including:

• Environment

• Sleep latency (how long it takes you to fall asleep)

• Sleep efficiency (how often you wake up)

• Natural sleep schedule

These are just some of what you’ll discover when you determine your sleep personality.

You can’t fix anything if you’re clueless about what’s wrong. Knowing your sleep personality tells you what it is. From there, you can make specific tweaks that will improve your overall sleep health.

For instance, your sleep personality reveals your environment is one culprit. Now you know what bedroom upgrades you need to make to get the restful sleep you crave.

Another benefit of knowing your sleep personality is it sheds light on other aspects of your health. To be clear, your sleep personality isn’t a diagnosis of other health issues. But it's an indicator of your sleep quality.  

And poor sleep quality can indicate underlying health conditions. Sleep disorders are one of them.

Sleep deficiency puts you at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, to name a few.

Your sleep personality indicates when you’re most and least energetic. To say this is valuable for productivity is an understatement.

Think about it. You can time your daily activities to make the most out of your energy bursts. And understand why you might not feel as pumped at times. While it's not an excuse to slack off, it’s a good reminder to be gentle with yourself.

And by the way, feeling more energized overall is another thing great sleep gives you.

The key to getting good shuteye is sleep hygiene. And this means developing and maintaining good sleep habits.

Assign a specific time to hit the hay and wake up at the same time every day. Resist the urge to oversleep on weekends. And don’t give in to delaying your bedtime. (Binge-watching your favorite TV shows? Tempting but don’t.)

A sleep schedule trains your brain and body to get the amount and quality of sleep you need.

Your sleep environment can wreak havoc on its quality.

Keep your bedroom dark and quiet. Invest in dark curtains or a good sleep mask .   Unless you’re listening to sounds specifically for sleeping, cut the noise way before bedtime.

Optimize your room temperature for sleep (60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit) with a cooling system.

These can reduce how often you wake up and help you fall asleep faster. And get enough sleep, too.

A good bedtime routine also helps you fall asleep faster. The key is to try and maintain it as much as possible.

So, what’s in a routine? Activities like a warm bath, brushing your teeth and slipping into comfy pajamas are examples. Do these consistently and this routine will signal your brain that it’s time to hit the sack.

Exercise and a good diet matter. Laying off smoking and cutting down on caffeine are great ideas, too.  

Go outside and get some sun. It’s not just vitamin D, but light (just like darkness) plays an important role in regulating your sleep-wake cycle.  

We aren’t gonna lie. Sleep hygiene is easier said than done. But know that committing to it is putting your mental and physical health first. And ultimately, these are what you need to face whatever each day brings. To sleep well is to live well.