How To Sleep Better at Night!
It’s 5pm, you’re finished with your day, and ready to just unwind, watch some Netflix and kick back until it’s time to get to sleep. Unfortunately, that time comes around and you lay in bed wide-eyed, tossing and turning, wishing you could fall asleep or, even worse, you wake up at 3am and can’t get back to sleep to save your life.
Before you know it, this is your regular sleep cycle and you’re feeling tired almost every day of the week. It’s a vicious cycle many of us fall into — 33-50% of adult Americans actually, so you’re not alone here. The good news: it’s completely fixable!
Recently, I wrote a post about creating the perfect nighttime routine and I wanted to follow up with some extra tips that can be used to reduce anxiety before bedtime and help you fall asleep & stay asleep.
Below are 15 tips you can start implementing tonight that will help you relax before bed, fall asleep faster and have a good night’s rest, enabling you to wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed, healthier & happier. So let’s get to it!
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1. Separate Your Work Day from Your Relaxation Time
I used to be that person who worked 9-5 and then some. I’d tell myself if I just finished a few more tasks tonight I won’t have to worry about them tomorrow, my boss will be impressed with my commitment, and I’ll feel more accomplished. Unfortunately, the only thing that did was make me feel overworked and under-appreciated. Not the best feeling to have before heading off to sleep just to do it all again tomorrow.
If 2020 brought us any good it was bringing us the new age of work operations. We have officially entered what I like to call “the boundaries era” and I’m all here for it! Not to mention, multiple studies show that you’re not actually more productive if you work late.
Separating your work mode from your sleep mode will allow your mind and body to naturally trigger you to get work done at the right time and get to sleep at the right time. Moreover, your bedroom should feel like a cozy space that is meant for sleep and relaxation. Bringing your computer into this space to check emails or write that last proposal changes the tone of your room and makes it feel normal to work here. You don’t want to promote this activity in your bedroom.
Don’t just take my word for it. Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal, has even said “Burnout is a real thing and I used to advocate for going on that grind, grind, grind. I think that’s a really outdated way of thinking. Employees who feel like they have different times to be themselves and have their own lives are higher performing teams and stick around a lot longer.”
2. Get Some Fresh Air & Exercise
There’s something so refreshing and calming about taking a short walk at night under the moonlight and just letting your mind relax. Take a 15-20 minute walk around your neighborhood or complex and be present. Listen to the crickets, feel the cool nighttime breeze, enjoy the quiet and lower traffic levels. Get those last steps of the day in! I usually try and get 10k steps in each day, but I save my last 1,000-1,500 steps for my before-bedtime walk.
I’m also a big fan of yoga before bed. It helps with your flexibility, is amazing for toning your body, works to rid your body of aches after a long day, and promotes a healthier sleep cycle. My favorite spaces for a guided yoga routine designed for better sleep are Alo Moves, Asana Rebel and FitOn. There are hundreds of videos to choose from ranging between 15-30 minutes and all fitness levels.
3. Read a Chapter of Your Favorite Book
Reading is a wonderful way to relax and escape to another world. Cozying up to a good novel, memoir, or self development book will help reduce stress and allow your mind to stop worrying about other matters. Put together a “Book Bucket List” and start working your way through it each night. Enjoy the worlds that authors create for us or find tips to implement into your daily routine that can make a huge impact on your life.
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4. Drink a Cup of Tea
While you’re cozying up to your book, the perfect addition to this is a nice, warm cup of tea. There are plenty of teas that have been proven to promote a healthier sleep and help you feel more relaxed. Some of my favorites are Chamomile, Sleepytime Herbal Tea, Peppermint, or Green Tea (Decaf, of course). A nice glass of milk is also a wonderful addition and contains a lot of calcium, which plays a big role in our sleep cycles. Guess our grandmas really do always know best!
5. Take Your Vitamins
Adding vitamins into your daily routine is amazing for your health all around and there are some designed specifically for when you’re about to go to sleep. I love taking my vitamins about an hour before bedtime so that I can go through my nighttime skincare routine, hop in bed with my book & tea and feel my eyes get heavier by the minute.
Some of the best vitamins to use before bed include Melatonin, Magnesium, Calcium, and Evening Primrose Oil.
Melatonin is a hormone our bodies naturally produce that puts us into a quiet state and promotes sleep. We have so much going on in the world we live in today, though, and sometimes our bodies produce it more at the wrong time (hence why you want a nap in the middle of the day) or we work to stay energized so often that our bodies naturally think they shouldn’t produce enough to put us to sleep until we start winding down. Our bodies are very intuitive and know how to tell us what they need, but we also hit the snooze button on those alerts more often than we realize. Taking a sleep vitamin with Melatonin helps put us to sleep and keep us asleep.
Magnesium has been called the “most powerful relaxation mineral” by Mark Hyman, MD and I have to say, he’s completely right. I started taking it a few years ago when a doctor recommended adding it into my daily routine due to my heart issues. I expected it to help relieve me of some of my heart problems, but I didn’t anticipate the effect it would have on my sleep. I noticed within a huge difference within a week and vowed never to turn my back on it! It also supports muscle relaxation so if you’re someone who workouts a lot or is on their feet most of the day this will help your sore muscles recover.
According to many scientific studies, including one led by William Sears, M.D., Calcium is an amazing supplement that combats insomnia. Sears writes “Calcium helps the brain use the amino acid tryptophan to manufacture the sleep-inducing substance melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the to sleep-inducing foods.” If you’re not someone who likes or is able to consume dairy products, a Calcium supplement is a great substitute for your body.
Evening Primrose Oil is one of my favorite nightly vitamins! It has a plethora of health benefits outside of sleep quality and also helps with anti-aging from within — Win Win! For all my ladies out there struggling with menopausal symptoms this one’s for you! Research has found Evening Primrose Oil offers relief from symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping and mood swings. It’s always easier to sleep when these issues aren’t on the table.
6. Listen to Calming Music or Sleep Soundscapes
It should come as no surprise that the music we listen to can put us in a relaxing mood. Music can get us excited and ready for a night out, pumped up for a strong workout, and ready to go to sleep. You can create a playlist of soft music or use soundscapes of calming sounds. I love using my Hatch Restore Wind Down Content & Sunrise Alarm each night as my soundscape machine. It has sounds that cater to every user: pink or white noise, ocean waves, night’s tranquility, a rainy night. Whatever helps put you to sleep can most likely be found on here and can play for a specific amount of time or until your alarm begins lighting up for a sunrise wake up.
7. Practice Breathing or Meditation Before Bed & if you wake up in the middle of the night
Meditation is a wonderful way to ease your mind and body and doesn’t have to be reserved for your morning routine. Practicing meditation at night is a great way to practice gratitude for your day and look forward to the day to come once you awake. Doing so includes focusing on your breathing and calming your body’s rhythm which puts you into a calm, restful state of mind.
Luckily, there are thousands of guided meditations right at our fingertips nowadays. You can find sleep meditations easily on Youtube, the Calm App or Headspace App.
8. Light a Soothing Candle or Use a Humidifier
Scents hold a lot of power and can make us feel like we’re soaking up the sun on a beach, wandering the streets of Paris, baking the perfect batch of cookies, or sleeping in fresh field of roses or lavender.
Lighting a candle or using essential oils with a diffuser is another way to unwind before bed. Use scents like jasmine, lavender, vanilla, or rose. Take a deep breath in and let the scents take over — just remember to put your candle out before bed!
9. Practice Journaling & Reflecting on Your Day
Organizing your thoughts and reflecting on your day is a fantastic way to wind down for bed and be appreciative of your day, your interactions, your strides, and more. This doesn’t have to be a long process; just something short & sweet that allows you a few minutes of positive reflection. I personally like using my Five-Minute Journal. It only asks three meaningful questions, provides a space for my gratitudes, and allows me to feel calm & thankful for my day.
10. Eat Foods that Promote Healthy Sleep
The food we consume has a great effect on our body in more ways than just fitness and weight loss. They contain nutrients that support all of our organs, including our brain. Ideally, you should eat these sleep promoting foods a couple hours before bedtime rather than right before you rest your head.
As mentioned before, magnesium is a power-player for promoting good sleep and we can find this mineral in almonds, pumpkin seeds and leafy greens. Bananas are loaded with potassium, magnesium, and vitamin B6 — all of which stimulate sleep. Cherries and Kiwi also contain Melatonin, which we also talked about in tip #5.
Try eating these throughout your day and have dinner earlier in the evening. Heavy meals later in the day make you feel just like that: heavy. They also don’t break down as easily and your body works harder to digest your meals as you sleep when it should be taking a break and only working on your skin and organs’ cell turnover.
11. Cut Back on Caffeine
We all love our morning coffee or black tea…and our midday caffeine pick-me-up, and after work latte, and that cup of coffee that helps us write our final papers. It’s not to love them! They’re delicious and make us feel energized, but their effects are longer lasting than we think.
Start limiting your coffee intake during the day so that you don’t consume any more caffeine after 2pm latest. According to research, six hours after caffeine is consumed, half of it is still in your body and it can take up to 10 hours to completely work its way out of your system. This, of course, depends on the dosage level of what you’re consuming. A good way to flush it out of your system is through drinking water so make sure you’re drinking at least 8-12 cups each day for your body’s optimal progression.
Try swapping your hot chocolate which only contains >5mg of caffeine compared to most coffee’s 95mg-360mg or a hibiscus tea which is caffeine free.
13. Take a Relaxing Shower or Bath
Bubble baths are the ultimate relaxer! Pamper yourself with a nice bath bomb — also a good time to light that candle, play some music or read a book. If your home only has a shower you can still make it feel like a relaxing spa area with an aromatherapy eucalyptus & lavender shower mist.
13. Create a Space that Welcomes Sleep
Your bedroom should feel like the ultimate sleep sanctuary and welcoming space. Make every part of your bedroom feel like it’s designed for sleep from the colors of your walls, to its design, the sheets you sleep on, the light levels you use, the plants you include, everything. Make it so that the moment you walk into your room your body starts processing that it’s a place of rest and relaxation.
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14. Go to Sleep at the Same Time Each Night
Okay, I’m about to lose a lot of cool points and sound super dull but, going to sleep at the same time each night is the best feeling! I love my nighttime routine and I love when my body starts telling me it’s time for bed.
I’ve worked very hard to make going to sleep at the same time a habit after years of just waiting until I was tired and living as a total night owl. Shifting my routine so that I go to sleep no later than 10:30pm on the weekdays and 11:30pm on the weekends has made all the difference in how I feel each morning and the rest of my day. It’s also made life so much easier by not having to plan out what time it is now and how many hours I need so that I can change all my alarms around.
I know that if I stop trying to take on the whole world and allow myself some grace and time to relax, I will have enough energy the next day to focus, workout, accomplish my workday goals and make the most of my day. I also found it’s much easier to plan taking on those tasks when I know what time I will be awake and asleep each day. Routines are your best friends!
15. Schedule an Appointment with Your Doctor
If you’re having more trouble with your sleep and feel that your sleep insomnia or anxiety symptoms persist even after attempts to peacefully fall asleep or stay asleep, talk to your doctor about your sleep struggles. A doctor will be able to assist you with a proper diagnosis and treatment plans or suggest medication, therapy, lifestyle change recommendations. Speaking with a professional is always a good idea when your health is involved.
These are just a few tips that you can start implementing to improve your sleep quality. Hopefully these have helped and you can start enjoying your sleep routine.
Thanks & We Wish You the Best!
Let’s Do BetterTogether!