You’re waking up every morning and it feels like you’ve barely had any sleep. Or maybe you’re jealous of those people that get to wake up in the morning because you’ve been up all night and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get your eyes to stay closed. Well, below is a list of 5 tips for better sleep that is sure to make your nighttime routine far more relaxing than it is now.
1. Know Your Body
The first tip for better sleep is to know your body. Our bodies have a natural rhythm, and everybody’s is different. Some people can fall asleep at 8 pm and not wake until 6 am. Others won’t stand a chance of falling asleep until midnight. The point is, you need to know your natural sleeping pattern. If you really want to sleep at 9 pm but it just isn’t happening, then allow yourself an extra hour until you try again. The worst thing you can do for your sleep pattern is to try to force it to change dramatically, listen to your body, it knows what’s best for you.
2. Take Screens Out Of Your Bedroom
Yes. Every single one of them. Mobile phones, laptops, TV. Whatever it is that you have in your bedroom that you turn to when you can’t fall asleep. Sure, it feels like you need something to do when your body won’t sleep, but exposing yourself to the light from these screens only makes your body think it’s time to be awake. So get rid of them, pronto!
3. Exercise
One of the best ways to stop feeling so awake at night time is to burn off all that excess energy you have in the day. Go for a jog, walk, cycle, swim. It doesn’t matter which, just make sure you’re getting active during the day time so that your body is ready for rest by night.
4. Think About Your Diet
If you’re eating a heavy meal at 9 pm and trying to sleep half an hour later then you’re going to struggle. Your body needs time to digest your meals, so eating late is sure to disturb your sleep. But don’t just think about food, think about drink too. A morning hit of caffeine is absolutely fine, but make sure you aren’t drinking caffeinated drinks throughout the day, or else your body won’t want to rest when you climb into bed.
5. Relax!
This is probably the most difficult of the 5 tips for better sleep to put into place, but it is probably the most crucial one too. Getting stressed about your sleep patterns is only going to cause more stress around your bedtime routine, and it’s going to make things more difficult for you. You’ll end up in a vicious cycle where bedtime is this huge stumbling block that you can’t move past. So, breathe. Relax. Look after yourself in the run-up to bed. However you chose to do it isn’t important, a good book, a warm bath, or some simple meditation. Just make sure the run-up to bedtime is calm, and you’ll find it much easier to get better sleep.