Improving Your Sleep

As we’ve already established, sleep is an incredibly important and fascinating process. It’s by far one of the most important parts of our day. But sometimes, getting some sleep is harder than it sounds. I know that I’ve often lain awake in bed for what feels like hours, unable to drift off. I’m sure many others have experienced similar scenarios. It might even be that you get a good amount of sleep, but you still wake up feeling exhausted. So how can we make the most of our sleep?

The National Sleep Foundation explains that the first thing to do is make sure your bedroom is a good environment to sleep. Make sure you have a quality mattress and pillow, and keep your room at a moderate temperature at about 65°. You can also use scented candles or essential oils in scents like lavender, which are shown to help people fall asleep. It’s also important to ensure that your bed is used only for sleeping. If you frequently lay in it to watch television, read, or do homework, your body will cease to associate it with sleeping, and it can become more difficult to fall asleep at night. Try to do these activities in different areas of your home.

They also recommend setting a routine, which helps your mind to settle down and prepare to rest. If possible, try to fall asleep and wake up at about the same time every day. Of course, I realize this is easier said than done. If your sleep schedule is unavoidably messed up, try to at least perform similar actions before you go to bed. Try to wind down, lower the lights, and turn off technology for at least 30 minutes before you sleep.

You can also impact your sleep schedule through your diet. Some nutrients can greatly help promote sleep, especially melatonin, tryptophan, calcium, and magnesium. While they may be strange sounding, they’re found in many common foods. Some of the best ways to incorporate these into your diet are through eating almonds, walnuts, or cherries. Any of these can make great bedtime snacks! And if there’s a certain food you associate with sleep, like a type of soothing tea, that’s always a good option as well.

Finally, if these tips just aren’t working, don’t force it. Tossing and turning in bed only makes sleep less likely to occur. If you realize you aren’t going to be able to fall asleep, get up and do a calming activity and wait until you actually feel tired. And try to avoid watching the clock. I will sometimes watch time passing, worrying about all the sleep I’m losing. This stress only puts more pressure on your mind and makes it less likely that sleep will occur.

With all that being said, I’m sure there are still hundreds more strategies which can help get a better night’s rest. Are there any tricks you’ve learned to improve your sleep? Hopefully if you do decide to attempt any of these suggestions it’ll result in a healthier sleep. Best of luck!