For some reason, good sleep has not been on my side lately. For the past few weeks, I have been waking up without fail around 2-3am. Do I go right back to sleep? Thankfully, the answer is usually yes! But is it disruptive to my rest and how energized I feel the next day? Sadly, the answer is also yes. Getting good quality of uninterrupted sleep is important to your mood and energy levels. As I return to better habits in an effort to experience better sleep, keep reading for 6 of the top tips I’ve found to improve your sleep.
1. Consistency is Key
To help regulate your body’s internal clock, try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. This makes it easier to fall asleep and wake up naturally, when your body expects it. This also means trying to limit random naps during the day, which can make you less tired at your usual bedtime.
2. Limit Blue Light Exposure
This is one of the more popular tips I’ve seen, and it is the trickiest for me to listen to! It’s recommended to limit blue light and screen exposure before bed to get better sleep, as it can interfere with the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. If you are like me and love a good Instagram Reel scroll before bed to take your mind off of things, try adjusting your phone’s settings to turn on the “night shift” brightness setting which limits blue light.
3. Exercise Regularly
Exercise is healthy for you in more than one way! In terms of sleep, getting in your regular exercise can be really beneficial, as it reduces stress and releases pent up energy. Just make sure you don’t do an intense workout too close to bedtime, or your body might become overly energized from the endorphins released during exercise.
4. Relax Before Bedtime
When you are getting ready for bed, develop a routine that helps you to feel calm and stick with it. For me, a warm shower is so important to feeling ready to snuggle up in bed. If I have the time, I love taking even just 15 minutes to read a book. Figure out what relaxes you at night and make it part of your bedtime routine to get better sleep.
5. Limit Caffeine and Alcohol
Did you know that caffeine has a half life of about 5 hours? This means that you can still experience half the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee after 5 hours. For this reason, it’s best to avoid caffeine for 6-8 hours before you intend to go to sleep.
While you may think that alcohol can make you tired and produce better sleep, this is not the case. Alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns, causing you to wake up more often and get less of the deep REM sleep.
6. Manage Your Stress
High stress levels can also impact the quality of your sleep. While you may not be able to avoid all sources of stress in your life, you can develop a routine to put your mind at ease before bedtime. One great way to accomplish this is through practicing sleep meditation. If you feel like you have too much on your mind, a great way to put your busy brain on pause is to write your thoughts down in a journal before bed. This way, you can go to sleep knowing that the things on your mind aren’t going anywhere.
Where to Start for Better Sleep
For me, some of these tips matter more than others. If I don’t exercise and I have a late afternoon cup of coffee, I am almost guaranteed a poor night of sleep! Likely, the first of the two is related to my latest sleepless nights as I recently traded out exercise habits for other daily tasks. But the reality is, there will always be something that needs to be done! And self-care needs to be prioritized, or else it might not happen.
If you have been having trouble with sleep, I challenge you to check-in with yourself. Do any of the above tips resonate with you? Do you have a sneaky suspicion that one of them might be related to the culprit of your poor sleep? If so, make an effort to make a change! It doesn’t have to be an overnight change (pun intended), but it small and consistent changes can make a difference. Have sweet dreams!