9 Tips For Achieving Better Sleep

How To Sleep Like A Rock

Sleep. It’s an important part of our daily lives, but most of us take it for granted. With how hard the world has gotten in the past few years, we focus too much on waking hours. We think, “If only there were more hours in the day.” But the key to a truly happy life isn’t looking to stay up later, it’s making sure to get a good night’s sleep.

So, how do you enjoy better sleep? What are some tips to get into a healthier sleeping habit? Here are nine tips to help.

1. Create A Better Sleep Schedule

First and foremost, make sure you have room in your schedule to sleep. Our bodies work on a set loop automatically and biologically. We are meant to rise with the sun and lie down when it sets. And our bodies appreciate it when we consistently stick with that pattern. Being consistent with your sleeping habits have long-term benefits to our health such as benefiting our melatonin levels and circadian rhythm. If you struggle with poor sleep, try to readjust your sleeping schedule and

2. Eliminate Long Naps

With that, you’ll want to make sure that you’re not taking too many naps or having long naps. Because, again, that will mess up with your sleep schedule. Taking short naps here and there is perfectly ok. In fact, that’s a great! That way, your body can take a quick second to refresh. But if you sleep for too long or two frequently, your biological clock and sleep schedule will get out of whack. In fact, one study found that participants who napped for extended periods of time during day were more tired afterward.

3. Fix Up Your Sleeping Environment

One other factor that could be messing with your sleep is your sleeping environment. What’s the temperature in your bedroom like? Are there any lights blasting in your face? What’s the furniture like? Is there loud traffic outside? Adjusting your sleeping situation may improve your sleep. And, you might not even realize that one of those things, or something else, is affecting you. Numerous studies have found that long-term health and sleep issues can come from these external problems. So, take a long look at your sleeping arrangement, perhaps something there is the problem to your poor sleep.

4. Dress Appropriately

Let’s break that last note down with some specifics. First, what are your wearing when you go to sleep? One possible solution to getting better sleep is to dress appropriately for the weather and season. If it’s the summer time and it gets hot where you sleep, make sure to dress lighter. If it’s winter time and cold, wear more (comfortable) layers in bed.

Maybe you can even experiment with going commando. As we’ve written in an earlier article, it’s been scientifically proven that going commando can raise your dopamine levels. That then causes us to have better sleep.

5. Get A More Comfortable Bed

But maybe the furniture is the problem. Are you waking up with a sore back? Are you overheated because of your mattress? Are the pillows too thin after months of laying on them? It might be time to get better furniture to sleep on. One study looked at the benefits of a new mattress over a 28 day span. Participants experienced reduced back pain by 57%, reduced shoulder pain by 60%, and reduced back stiffness by 59%. Sleep quality was also improved by 60%. Don’t you want that for yourself?

6. Reduce Electronic Light

You may also want to get rid of blue lighting within your sleeping space. Blue light is a type of light that electronic devices give off. Computers, tv screens, smartphones, tablets, and more give of this light. As science tells us, the blue light messes with your circadian rhythm and tricks your brain into thinking its still daytime. To fight this, turn off your screens when you sleep. Also, take an hour or two break from your devices before you go to sleep.

7. Exercise

One other way to work toward a better sleep life is to exercise more regularly. One study found that adults who exercised regularly saw the time that they took to fall asleep halved. This gave them around 41 more minutes of sleeping time. Exercise has also been found to help reduce symptoms of insomnia. Though, don’t exercise right before you go to bed. The stimulation from exercising can end up keeping you awake. All of that adrenaline will end up biting you in the behind. So, keep your exercise a few hours separate of your sleeping time.

8. Meditation Or Light Yoga

That said, you might enjoy a little light stretching and meditation before you go to sleep. While Yoga is an exercise all on its own, it can also be a great way to start your rest and relaxation. There are plenty of YouTube videos with light yoga routines meant to be performed right before bed. Or, you can try to meditate just before sleeping. In some cases, that meditation will not only help you to center yourself but also relax your mind and body.

9. Wash Up Before You Sleep

Lastly, it might be a great idea to wash up before you go to sleep. And, this is for more reasons than not inviting the day’s germs into your bed. You see, a relaxing shower and/or bath is great for sleep. Studies have found that sleep is improved when someone washes up before climbing into bed. In one study, taking a hot bath 90 minutes before bed improved sleep quality and helped people get more deep sleep. To find out more about the science behind that, check out our other article on this specific issue.