Image Source: Pixabay
It seems so difficult to fall asleep these days. We spend our time working, planning, and playing, our heads often hit the pillow long before our brain wants to call it a night. There are some easy tips and tricks you can use however, to fall asleep and get a good night’s sleep too.
1. Exercise
All it takes to get a good night sleep is a little bit of exercise. Just two and a half hours of aerobic activity that is moderate to vigorous will help you sleep better each night.
It doesn’t matter when you exercise either. Doing it right before bed though may make it difficult to get to sleep because you need to give your body a chance to cool down. But exercising can release any of that energy that makes it difficult to sleep so it’s worth a try.
2. Bath Time to Bed Time
Nothing seems more relaxing after a hard day than to have a nice bath. For some reason that is unknown, a bath can lead to a better quality of sleep. Add some bubbles, a bath bomb, or some essential oils and you will be ready for some shut-eye.
3. Lavender
There is so much research when it comes to lavender and the soothing effects it has. It can reduce stress and induce a calming state, that makes it easier to fall asleep.
There are several different ways that you can use lavender in the bedroom to help you sleep. You can put some in your oil diffuser, get a lavender scented lotion and put some on your hands and arms.
Another great thing to do is to mix Lavender essential oil with some distilled water and lightly spray your sheets with it. This will infuse them with the scent and send you off into peaceful dreams.
4. Peaceful Sounds
If you live in an urban area or your neighborhood is up late, those noises can be distracting and make it difficult to fall asleep. You can counteract these noises with some sounds of own. These neutral sounds or “white noise” can be a recording of a rainstorm, birds chirping, or ocean waves crashing on the shore of a beach. Whatever your preference, they can lead you into a peaceful sleep,
Nowadays, there are many apps that you can download on your smart device that allow you to choose from many neutral sounds. Some even give you the option to customize your sleep sound.
5. Coffee and Naps
Coffee is great but if you drink it before bedtime, you may have a hard time falling asleep. Try and give yourself a cutoff time for when to stop drinking coffee—or any caffeinated beverages—so that they can get out of your system
Naps are great too, but if you take one too close to your bedtime or you take a long one, this can interfere with your natural sleep cycle.
If you love both of these things, you can combine them. If you drink some coffee before you take a nap, you can shorten your nap time and wake up with some energy. In this way, you can get some much-needed rest during the day and also get a good night’s sleep.
Also, if you insist on taking a nap, try and stick to an earlier window of time. A nap between 1 pm and 3 pm would be ideal because it shouldn’t interfere with your sleep schedule.
6. Stay Away From Bright Screens
Our phones, our computers, or are televisions always seem to be right there, in front of our face. This holds especially true for our phones and tablets. We can take these to bed with us and find ourselves playing games, scrolling through social media, or all the random newsfeeds. This blue light is known to be a culprit for keeping us awake.
Try to go to bed without any of your devices near you. If you need to have your devices, or scrolling through the news makes you sleepy, make sure you are using the yellow light or dimmer option on your smartphone or smart device.
7. Stress and Anxiety
Many of us have a hard time going to sleep because we use that time in bed to think about issues or problems that occurred during the day or may occur in the near future. These racing thoughts can keep us up for hours, sometimes all night.
Writing down your problems and different ways you might be able to solve them is a good way to get those thoughts out of your head so that you can rest. Sometimes keeping a journal can help too. When you write down your problems, sometimes it’s easier to sort them ours. You can also use this as a reminder list. If you write it down, you don’t have to spend your time worrying about remembering it. It will be waiting for you when you wake up.
Find What Works Best For You
Some people may need 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night. Some people do well on the recommended 8 hours and some may even only need 4 or 5. We are all different when it comes to our sleep cycles and it’s important to figure out which one works for you so you are getting enough sleep.
Some people like to schedule their sleep time around their work schedules. Some people like to wake up early and get a few things done before heading into work. Some people love to stay up late or sleep in. Whatever person you are, try and schedule your sleep time around these preferences.
Conclusion
Anyone of these could be the hack that works for you. You may have to try a few before you find one that works best or you may find that you have a couple of them that work. Whatever it is, you’ll be glad when you start to sleep better.
About The Author:
Sebastian Morales is Founder and CEO of Good & Bed. Prior to Starting Good & Bed, Sebastian was an investment banker based in New York City.
