Sleep Better with BetterSleep

1. Change Your Daily Sleep Habits

Lifestyle choices dictate the quality of your sleep. Making poor choices can contribute more to poor sleep than you might think.

• Avoid long naps late in the day. Naps should last around 20 minutes and never exceed 90 minutes.
• Nap earlier rather than later. Try napping before 3 p.m to reduce the risks of disturbing your sleep schedule.
• Whatever you do, don’t hit the snooze button! If you maintain a regular sleep schedule and avoid hitting the snooze button for a few weeks, you may naturally wake up when you want with no alarm.
• Increase your exposure to natural light during the day: On top of raising your body temperature and waking you up, light elevates your body’s levels of serotonin.

2. Improve Your Nutrition & Diet

Depending on the foods you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat, your nutritional choices will be the difference between a night of deep rest and a night of restlessness.

• Lay off alcohol before bedtime.
• Try to stop smoking or avoid smoking right before bedtime.
• Eat a lighter meal before bed.
• Avoid eating too close to your bedtime.
• Ditch the extra cup of coffee.

3. Create a Habit of Exercising

Believe it or not, your level of physical activity can affect your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

• Try to break a sweat when you can.
• Avoid high-intensity exercise right before bed.
• Do lighter exercises before bed to relax your mind : gentle stretching, deep breathing, Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR).

4. Create a Nighttime Ritual

The habits and rituals that make up your nights are as important as what you do during the day.

• Do a complete brain dump of everything causing you to feel anxious. Schedule a specific time at night when you allow yourself to worry as much as you want, ideally three hours before bed.
• Visualize yourself having a good night of uninterrupted sleep.
• Set an alarm to go to bed.
• Take a hot bath to help you wind down.
• Surround yourself with pleasant, relaxing smells.

5. Prioritize Your Sleep Environment

Your bedroom should be your haven, a space designed for rest.

• Use your bedroom for sleep and sex, nothing else.
• Do not treat your bedroom like an office. Invest in high-quality sleeping equipment: mattress, pillows, blankets, etc.
• Keep your bedroom super quiet.
• Use soothing, relaxing sounds to help you sleep better.
• Keep your bedroom dark.
• Set your bedroom’s temperature to 60-65°F (16-18°C).
• Optimize your sleeping posture for better sleep.

6. Manage Your nighttime anxiety

The more you worry about falling asleep, the longer you’ll stay awake. We’ve all been there, but it’s important to find ways to lower your anxiety and get some rest.

• Count sheep (seriously, try it!).
• Leave your bedroom and do something relaxing before trying to fall asleep again.

You are now fully equipped with every science-backed tip under the sun (or moon) to help you sleep better at night.

Every lifestyle choice is enough to make a noticeable difference in how well you sleep and how energized you feel when you wake up.

Now it’s time to take action and make this year your best rested one yet!

If you found this information to be helpful, share this article with somebody in your life who’s having trouble sleeping.