If we’re going to be at our best, then it’s important that we are getting a good night’s sleep. If we are well-rested, then it’s much easier to tackle the day head-on; if we have a night of tossing and turning, then we could be sluggish the entire day that follows. If you’re one of those people that suffer with their sleeping habits, then it’s important to make some changes. Below, we take a look at a few essential tips and hints that’ll have you sleeping better than ever.
The Right Lighting
When we think of lighting in relation to sleep, we usually think of the bedroom, and how bright it is. While it’s important to make your bedroom dark enough to sleep in, it’s not the only light-matter that’ll affect your sleeping routine. You also need to get natural light into your system. Why? It’s all because of your circadian rhythm, which tells your body when to be awake and when to fall asleep. If you don’t get any natural light in the morning, your body’s circadian rhythm won’t reset. So, go for a short walk in the morning; even 5 minutes is fine. If you don’t live in an area that gets a lot of sun, then you can use specifically designed glasses that produce a light similar to sunlight to help you.
Your Sense of Smell
Our senses play a big role in how easily we’re able to fall asleep. One of the most underrated aspects is our sense of smell. There are scents that can naturally relax the body, which will, in turn, make you more able to hit the Land of Nod. Things like lavender, rose, and bergamot have all been shown to tap into parasympathetic nervous systems, and calm us down. So, if you’re looking to improve your sleep, then bring these fragrances into your life. You’ll find that they bring other benefits beyond helping you to fall asleep, too — for example, lavender also works to boost your mood and gives your immune system a nudge in the right direction, too.
Reduce the Noise
Is there anything more annoying than trying to get asleep, but being continually interrupted by loud noises from outside? It’s a problem that many people that live in cities must contend with, because the city never seems to sleep. The best way to handle this problem is to invest in earplugs. They’re comfortable, inexpensive, and block out 90% of the noise that would otherwise be keeping you awake. If you don’t want to wear earplugs, and your problem stems more from blocking out noise when you’re trying to fall asleep rather than waking up through the night, then you can use a white noise generator. This produces a static, non-intrusive sound that overrides the other noises.
The Right Temperature
We all know how difficult it is to fall asleep during the peak of summer, when the temperatures are higher than normal. But did you know that temperature could also affect the quality of your sleep at other times of the year, too? It’s not necessarily to do with the temperature in the air (though that, of course also plays a role); it’s about the temperature of your body. That can be too high even when it’s cold outside, if you’ve been working out, eating a lot of hot foods, and so on. If your internal body heat is too high, then your rhythm could be a little out of sync. Your body will need to cool down for longer before you can go to sleep. If this is the case, then look at cooling down your bed, so that your body can get to the optimal sleeping temperature more quickly.
Calm and Relaxed
You will have noticed that it’s harder to fall asleep when you’ve had a stressful day. You could be thinking over the causes of the stress, and in any case it’s more likely that your heart rate will be up. For this reason, it’s really important that you’re moving past the stressful moments before you get into bed. There are a lot of ways to calm yourself down. For example, a cup of tea (with no caffeine) and lighting incense can do wonders. Perhaps the best method is to practice a little meditation. This can significantly reduce your stress levels; even if you’re had a day where everything went wrong, you’ll find that you’ve put it all behind you after 10/15 minutes of meditation. It’s easy to get started, too — it’s just a matter of sitting in a comfortable space and watching your breath (you can count up to ten breaths, and then go back to the beginning).
Tire Yourself Out
We have to go to sleep to recoup the energy that we’ve lost during the day. But if you haven’t used that much energy, then there’s not much to recover. As such, it’s important to do things throughout the day that’ll wear you out. Engaging in exercise and some mental tasks will do this.
Set a Routine
We’re creatures of habit in many ways. You’ll find it much easier to go to sleep and wake up at a set time if you’re going to bed at the same time each day. Ideally, you should aim for something like 11 pm – 7 am. It can be tough at first, but within a few days, you’ll find that you’re ready to go to bed at that time, and that you wake up at the same time each day, even without an alarm clock.
Avoid Caffeine/Screens
Finally, be sure to avoid the things that will make you feel alert. It’s best to avoid caffeine after 3 pm, since it’ll still be in your system when you try to go to bed. One of the things that have a damaging impact on alertness is screen time. It’s recommended to avoid staring at your smartphone in the hour leading up to bedtime since it’ll keep your mind active.
