12 Things You Can do Today, to Help Your Sleep Tonight
We've put together a short but comprehensive list on 12 things you can do to improve your sleep. These 12 actionable steps and activities are sure to help you get a better nights sleep...
- Black out your bedroom: When sleeping, your bedroom should be pitch black.
- Television should be off
- Computer screens off
- Lights from alarms clocks off
- Light coming from the outside should be blocked, whether by curtains or blacking out the window
- Small lights on electronics (can cover with black duct tape, or unplug)
- Basically, anything that gives off a light should be blocked or shut off. This is important because even our skin has receptors that receive light (this is evident in the fact that we can get a sun tan). Just blocking your eyes with blue blocking glasses or masks isn’t enough, make sure the room is pitch black to get optimal sleep quality. No light, let’s your brain know it is nighttime, and therefore it is time to naturally produce melatonin and go to sleep,
- Avoid blue light 1-2 hours before bed.
- Blue light rays are given off by artificial light sources (and the sun). The blue light rays from screens and lights is what causes our brain to still think it is daylight and not allow our body to naturally start producing melatonin. If you are staring at your phone, tv, and/or computer screen until you decide to go to bed, you will not start producing melatonin correctly until you finally shut your eyes. This is where the blue light blocking glasses come in, the glasses allow you to block the blue light rays from your eyes and let’s your brain know it is nighttime and time to start producing melatonin for sleep.
- Get sunlight during the day, especially early morning.
- Have a caffeine curfew.
- Caffeine metabolizes differently in everyone, and the stimulant could be one of the causes that is keeping you up at night and also affecting the quality of your sleep. A daily caffeine curfew is recommended. 3pm is generally the latest you should consume caffeine, but a better rule would be to cut it out by noon.
- Turn the blue light off on your computer or at least lower the brightness.
- If you have mac, there is an app called F.lux you can download. It will shut off the blue light rays on your computer at nighttime or a time you set. This is also a good idea to use during the day, as it can help with headaches and eye fatigue that can be caused by staring at a computer screen for large amounts of time.
- Room Temperature
- Cooler temperatures are ideal for optimal sleep. A recommended range is between 60-67 degrees.
- Warm bath before bed
- Warming your body temperature up before bed with a warm bath can help with getting you to sleep.
- Create a good sleeping environment
- This can be achieved in a few different ways. The bedroom should be a place for two activities: sleep and sex. You should not have electronics in your room, you should not have your bedroom double as an office.
- Comfortable mattress and blankets
- Plants in the room. The snake plant is a good option. It is one of the few plants that creates oxygen at night, instead of during the day
- Sounds: apps that play raining, or running water. Light music. Some people go as far as putting water fountains in there rooms.
- Exercise in the morning.
- Avoid alcohol.
- Alcohol can and will affect your sleep quality. It’s why after a night of drinking you hardly ever wake up feeling fully rested.
- Dress for sleep success
- Something as simple as wearing comfortable clothes or pajamas can help you sleep better. Sometimes just putting on pajamas can give your mind the psychological cue that it’s time for bed.
- Nightly Ritual
- Morning rituals are all the rage right now, but a night time ritual is important too. Some possible things to include in your ritual: Warm bath or shower, meditation, brushing teeth, reading, journaling, etc.