Sleep Satisfaction and How to Increase It

Sleep quality and quantity are only parts of how sleep impacts your energy levels throughout the day.

A peaceful night of rest can make you feeling more energized and focused when you wake up. Sleep satisfaction also affects how invigorated you feel at any given moment, and improved sleep satisfaction can make people feel more alert and content.

To learn how to improve your sleep quality, you first need to be able to differentiate it from sleep quality and sleep quantity.

The difference between sleep quality/quantity and satisfaction

Sleep quantity signifies the number of hours you have slept. Sleep quality depicts the condition of sleep. Sleep satisfaction is a holistic view of both of these things and more. It considers additional factors such as room temperature, bedroom environment, exposure to noise and light, the time you need to fall asleep, the number of times you have woke up during the night, and others. It can be reflected in how you feel after waking up, and your subjective assessment of sleep quality.

How sleep satisfaction is measured?

When you are satisfied with your sleep you will have more energy, better coordination, and improved mood.

But how do you measure something seemingly abstract like sleep satisfaction? It is easier than you think. Sleep satisfaction is measured by positive emotions, or rather the absence of negative emotions. You can experience negative sleep-related emotions even if you have slept for eight hours and did not wake up and interrupt your sleep pattern during the night. Sleep satisfaction may include fewer hours of sleep, but you can still feel rested.

The importance of sleep satisfaction

High-quality sleep helps your body restore various functions including temperature regulation, hormone levels, and a healthy appetite. All of these factors impact the amount of energy you have during the day. All of this sets you up for other positive emotions, and thus impacts your health, career, and social life.

Poor sleep satisfaction, on the other hand, makes you feel groggy and sluggish, from the moment you wake up until the end of the day. Not getting enough quality sleep is associated with weight gain, obesity, weakening of the immune system, and other health problems.

5 tips to increase your sleep satisfaction

Choose the right position

Do you wake up every morning with pain in your back? Do you have digestive problems? Both these discomforts can be caused by your preferred sleep position. While it is difficult to change your habits, you should know that sleeping on your back is considered the healthiest position to sleep in, but you can also use some tricks, like choosing a memory foam supportive pillow to support your neck when you are sleeping on your side or using a body pillow to reduce strain if you are sleeping face down.

Listen to your internal clock

By keeping track of your circadian rhythm and the moments of sleepiness and vigor during the day. That’s how you will know when to schedule high-energy activities. This will also help you maintain a consistent sleep schedule, which can also have a positive impact on your sleep satisfaction.

Boost your energy in the morning

When you wake up feeling groggy, you must signal your body and brain that it is time to wake up. Contrary to what you may think, a cup of coffee is not the best way to do that. Instead, take a morning walk or a short workout session. Eating a healthy breakfast can help too.

Take a siesta

Spanish people really know how to boost their sleep satisfaction. They even have a word for the afternoon nap. A 20-minute power nap can improve your alertness and make you feel refreshed. Just don’t hit that snooze button too many times, because anything above that will only have the opposite effect.

Create a sleep-inducing environment

Where you sleep also matters.

The ideal sleep-inducing room is clean, free of clutter, insulated, quiet, and dark. The temperature should be set between 60 and 67 degrees, and the digital distractions put away in another room or at least turned off.

There are many things that can determine a person’s sleep satisfaction. Sometimes it is just one factor that keeps you away from a good night’s sleep, and sometimes there are dozens of them. This is why there can’t be only one way to boost this positive feeling. However, you have nothing to lose by implementing these smart tips. On the contrary, you will only increase your energy and pleasure.