Getting restful sleep is a challenge that never seems to end. Unfortunately, it’s almost never as simple as just laying down and closing your eyes and drifting away to dream land. Improving your sleep creates a whole new thing to stress about as you read one outlandish suggestion after another online. Should it really take a special pill or hours of meditation just to fall asleep? Let’s discuss some truly stress-free sleep solutions that actually work.
Make Your Room Sleep Friendly
A bedroom that isn’t relaxing will only make bad sleep worse. Take some time to ensure your bedroom is a place that makes sleep easy. Put clutter away, find a mattress and comforter that you love, block out sunlight, and maybe even get some lavender essential oils to top it all off. Your room should be a place that makes you feel relaxed as soon as you enter it so that falling asleep will come naturally.
Avoid Electronics Before Bed
The blue light that electronics emit inhibits your body’s ability to product melatonin that you need to successfully fall asleep and stay asleep. Having electronics in your room also leads to hours of mindless scrolling and procrastinating falling asleep. Set a strict limit for yourself that you won’t be on any electronics for 2 hours before bed. Avoid bringing electronics into your bedroom at all if possible. Switching to an analog alarm clock makes this even easier and gives you no excuse to resort back to the screens! Instead of checking out social media before bed, try reading a book or finding another hobby that calms your mind.
Write Out Your Thoughts
It seems that when it’s time for bed your brain suddenly comes up with a hundred different to-do lists and thoughts that make it nearly impossible to fall asleep. Instead of just letting your mind wander and wondering why you can’t sleep, write those lists and thoughts down to get them out of your mind. By writing them down you can ensure you won’t forget them, but you don’t have to deal with them right that second either. In the morning you can look over what you wrote with a fresh set of eyes and start working through your to-do lists.
Finding sleep hacks, the best for you will likely take some trial and error because everyone’s different. The hacks we discussed today are a great place to start and work from there! Don’t get discouraged and remember that it may take some time to get your mind and body used to a new and improved sleep routine.
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