It is no secret that a good night’s rest can have a huge impact on your quality of life. However, many people still struggle to get the sleep they need because their mattress isn’t providing enough support or their space is too hot.
In this article, we will talk about some tips and tricks for getting better sleep so you can wake up feeling refreshed!
Turn off all electronics before bed.
For some people, it takes hours to fall asleep if they are watching TV or scrolling through social media before bed.
This is because the bright light emitted by screens tricks your body into thinking it’s still daytime, and this may prevent you from feeling tired even when it’s late at night. To avoid this problem, try turning off all electronics for an hour before going to sleep in order to allow yourself time to wind down without any distractions. Not only will doing so improve how well you sleep, but also give you a chance to read something that relaxes you!
It is not recommended that anyone watch television right up until their head hits the pillow as there are plenty of other things one could be doing instead with their free time, such as reading a book or practicing relaxation exercises. A good way to relax before bed is by taking some time for yourself and doing something that you enjoy, such as reading, writing in your journal, meditating, or listening to soothing music.
It is important not to stress about falling asleep because it can actually prevent the body from relaxing enough to do so effectively. Try focusing on calming thoughts like counting sheep if you find this helps. If all else fails, try using an app/website for guided meditation (such as Headspace) and practice these tips every night!
Relaxation Exercises Practiced Before Bed
Several relaxation exercises can be practiced before bed to help you fall asleep. Here are some of the most effective ones:
- Breathing exercises: Taking slow, deep breaths is one of the easiest and most basic ways to engage your body’s natural relaxation response. The 4-7-8 breathing technique involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This breathing pattern aims to reduce anxiety or help people get to sleep.
- Yoga: Bedtime yoga can help calm your mind and relax your body. Some yoga poses that can be practiced before bed include Child’s Pose, Legs Up the Wall, and Corpse Pose.
- Meditation: Meditation can help slow your heart rate, focus your mind, and benefit the brain and body collectively. A 10-minute guided meditation can help calm your mind before you get into bed.
- Progressive muscle relaxation: This technique involves tensing and relaxing each muscle group in your body, starting from your toes and working your way up to your head.
- Visualization: Imagine a peaceful place where you feel relaxed and calm. Close your eyes and imagine being in that peaceful place. Imagine the sounds, smells, and feel of your environment.
- Colored noise: Listening to calming sounds like white noise, pink noise, or brown noise can help you relax and fall asleep faster.
- Wind-down routine: Create a pre-bedtime ambiance by dimming the lights, turning off electronic devices, and reading a book or taking a warm bath.
It’s important to keep in mind that relaxation exercises take practice, and it may take some experimenting to find what works best for you. While these exercises are safe for most people, others may benefit from talking to their doctors before trying these techniques.
Keep your bedroom cool and dark for better sleep quality.
Temperature is another important factor when it comes to sleeping well at night because being too hot or cold can prevent you from relaxing enough to sleep. If your bedroom tends to be chilly, try adding an extra blanket and use bamboo sheets so that you don’t have trouble dozing off once the temperature starts dropping lower than what’s comfortable now that fall has arrived.
But, if temperatures are consistently hovering around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, there may not be anything wrong with leaving a window open even in colder months as long as no drafts come inside, which could make you feel chilled and interfere with falling asleep.
Create a routine to make yourself tired, like taking a warm bath or reading.
A lot of people have trouble falling asleep because their minds are still running 100 miles per hour even though they are physically exhausted. This can be caused by the stressors in your life or due to bad habits like staying up late, playing video games, or watching movies.
Luckily, there are ways you can trick yourself into feeling tired that don’t involve taking medications because these come with a variety of side effects and should only be used as a last resort if other methods fail.
One popular method for speeding along the onset of sleepiness involves creating an evening routine that relaxes your body and gets it ready to doze off at bedtime, such as taking a warm bath, meditating before bed, or reading something calming like interesting real-life stories. Such stories on The Doe website can relax you and help you de-stress.
Get enough exercise throughout the day.
Sleeping is a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle, but sleeping too much can also be harmful. One reason that sleep is so important for our health and happiness is because it helps us reboot physically by allowing our body to repair itself from all the wear and tear we put it through during waking hours. If you do not get enough physical activity throughout the day (such as exercising or going on walks), this will make falling asleep harder at night since your mind will still feel tired even though your body isn’t ready yet.
If you find yourself struggling with getting quality sleep despite doing everything right, try thinking back over what may have changed in your life recently, such as having trouble at work or major changes like moving into a new place.
Any stressors in your life can cause you to feel more tired during the day and make it harder for you to fall asleep at night, which means finding ways of coping with them sooner rather than later.
Avoid eating heavy meals right before bedtime.
Eating too much food or having a big meal right before bed is one of the worst things you can do if you want to fall asleep quickly.
If your stomach needs time to digest what you’ve eaten, being full will prevent it from relaxing enough for sleep, which means that all kinds of digestive issues might arise during the night, including heartburn and acid reflux. If you know dinner is going to be particularly heavy, try eating lighter throughout the day so that by the evening, your body doesn’t have as much work left over when it comes time for bedtime.
You could also choose healthier foods at dinnertime, such as vegetables, since these are easier on your digestive system than fatty meats, which may cause lots of gas in addition to keeping you up at night.
Set an alarm clock that is not too close to your bed.
Don’t wake up feeling frazzled or stressed out in the morning by setting an alarm clock that is too far away from where you sleep. This will make it harder for your mind to relax and drift off, which means feeling more tired as the day goes on because of a lack of quality shut-eye at night.
If you’re using a phone or tablet as your go-to alarm, this could also be why you feel more groggy in the morning since blue light exposure before bed has been shown to disrupt circadian rhythms, otherwise known as our internal body clocks, making us feel less alert during waking hours even if we had adequate time asleep.
Try looking for other ways to wake up, such as a standard wall-mounted clock with glowing numbers so that electronic devices aren’t getting between you and good rest every night.
If you want to get the most out of your sleep, you must take steps to improve its quality. Follow these tips consistently over time and see how they affect not only the quantity but also the quality of your sleep. What are you waiting for? Follow these tips and improve your sleep quality today!
