Nearly one-third of our lives are spent sleeping. One of the reasons our bodies need so much sleep is that rest offers an opportunity to heal physically, mentally, and psychologically.
To get the best possible rest, it’s important to develop a solid routine that wards off stress and anxiety. Here are 7 tips for getting restful sleep.
1. Increase Bright Light Exposure
Melatonin is the key to helping your body distinguish between day and night. This hormone relies on you getting sunlight exposure during the day in order to help your body prepare for a restful sleep at night.
Help your body regulate melatonin by spending an ample amount of time outside during the day. Take a morning walk or enjoy a cup of coffee on your patio.
If you’re inside all day working in an office, make sure you have bright lights to work under. Add an extra desk lamp to increase light exposure so that you can create an opposite effect in your bedroom later.
Your body will naturally fall into sleep and wake rhythms over time based on how you manage darkness and light around you.
2. Limit Caffeine Intake
It’s important to drink caffeine in the morning and not in the afternoon or evening. Caffeine is more likely to keep you awake when you drink it after lunch.
If possible, try to limit caffeine to breakfast or upon waking in the morning. But not everyone responds to caffeine the same.
If you’re prone to feeling jittery after drinking coffee, consider mixing regular and decaf. You might also opt for tea instead to reduce the amount of caffeine you consume.
Keep in mind that even if it takes two or three cups of coffee to get you going you might still be sensitive to drinking coffee late in the day. The caffeine remains in your bloodstream making it harder for your nerves to relax at the end of the night.
3. Maintain a Routine
Create a daily routine your body can depend on. One of the most confusing things for the melatonin hormone to face is an erratic sleep schedule.
If you stay up till 3 am watching a movie on Tuesday, and get up to jog at 5 am on Friday, and nap all afternoon on Saturday, your body has no idea how and when to relax. Think beyond college student sleeping schedules.
Adults need regular sleeping routines to help their bodies adjust at appropriate times. This doesn’t mean you can’t go out on the town for an occasional late night of dancing.
But it does mean you should start to feel drowsy at your normal bedtime while you’re out. One night of breaking a pattern won’t break your consistent sleep pattern.
4. Avoid Alcohol
Having a nightcap can negatively affect your sleeping patterns. Avoid alcohol close to bedtime so you can ensure a restful sleep.
Alcohol is bad to have before going to sleep because it disrupts the melatonin hormone throwing off your circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms refer to a master clock in your brain that manages your sleep-wake cycles.
5. Remove Allergens
It’s important to rid the area around your bed of allergens. Dust mites are a common culprit around mattresses and carpet.
Consider using a hypoallergenic mattress protector and getting your carpets deep cleaned on a regular basis. Allergens keep you up at night itching or with sinus problems.
You can also opt for an air purifier to keep toxins out of your room while you sleep. Toxins can come from just about anywhere including cleaning products.
Don’t let stale air linger in your room. Get an air purifier that keeps toxins circulating out of your home throughout the day.
6. Redo Your Bedroom
Set your room up to be the optimal sleep destination. Install dimmable lights so you can gradually reduce your light exposure as it gets closer to bedtime.
Keep in mind that artificial light from things like alarm clocks and chargers can also be disruptive. These items should be kept away from your bedside where they can keep you awake during the night.
Minimize outside noises with black-out curtains. The curtains won’t be completely soundproof but they can mask loud noises outside your home.
Always keep your bedroom floor and chairs free from clutter while going to sleep. Cluttered floors and beds lead to anxiety throwing off your ability to naturally drift off to sleep.
Replace any busy patterns in your room with soothing shades of blue or white. Blue is a tried and true shade for your bedroom that aids in relaxation.
Make sure your mattress is free from allergens and in top condition. If you’re feeling springs and coils while you sleep, it’s time to upgrade.
Read puffy mattress reviews to find a soft, reliable option for your bedroom.
7. Practice Deep Breathing
One of the most frustrating things about trying to fall asleep is that the effort itself leads to overthinking. Trying to sleep and failing leads to thoughts of what you’ll miss by not getting to sleep on time.
Thinking you’ll miss out on sleep creates anxiety about tasks not getting done the next day and so on and so forth. Reduce this chronic overthinking but practicing deep breathing before bed.
Meditation isn’t magic, but it’s a great way to quiet your mind of borderline obsessive thoughts. You can’t control what happened today or what you’ll be able to accomplish tomorrow.
It’s best to allow your body to become still and enjoy restful sleep using deep breathing.
Rest vs. Sleep
It’s possible to crash at the end of the day into a deep sleep with utter exhaustion pushing your body from sudden wake to sleep with little transition. But a restful sleep is a completely different animal.
Rest is the process of winding down into sleep using your body’s internal clock. Sleep hormones exist to help regulate the amount of rest your body receives each day.
Support a restful sleep each night by making sure your environment supports a healthy sleep-wake cycle. For more information and tips, visit our blog for updates.
