The average human spends around 26 years of their life sleeping – however, they also spend 7 (yes, seven) years trying to fall asleep.
If you would like those 26 years to become even better and cut down on the 7, spending them somewhere else instead, read our tips for naturally improving the quality of your sleep.
Change your bed
The first thing you can do to improve your sleep is to take a look at the bed and mattress you sleep on. If you can’t get comfortable and keep tossing and turning trying to settle, you might want to look at a different option.
Look for the best mattress in a box which can be delivered right to your door (saving you the unnecessary trip outside), and one that will be as soft or as firm as you need it to be.
Get some exercise
Moving is not only fantastic for your overall health and wellbeing, but it is also a great way to sleep better. When you tire your body out a bit, it will be much more ready to doze off. Plus, exercise is great for balancing your hormone levels, and will thus make falling asleep much easier.
You don’t need to engage in something very taxing every day – 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day will be just fine.
Mind what you eat
If you are one of those people who loves to eat a rich and tasty dinner, it might be interfering with your sleep time. Spicy and heavy foods will keep you up as your body tries to digest them, so going for something light for dinner is a better option.
On the other hand, you can also just eat your dinner earlier and provide plenty of time for your body to process it.
Close the curtains
Artificial light coming in through your window can keep you up at night, so close your curtains before going to bed. You can also get blackout ones if you need to.
On the other hand, if you prefer having some sort of light source, try to find a night light that will only provide a tiny amount of light.
Adjust the temperature
You may think you’ll sleep better when you’re snuggly and warm, but moderate temperatures are actually better for your sleep. When trying to find the right temperature, make sure you take into consideration your pajamas and your bed covers as well, and adjust the thermostat accordingly.
If you have trouble falling asleep unless your hands and feet are warm, get some sleeping socks and gloves, and remove them when you get warm enough if you remember to do so in your sleep.
Avoid screens and sounds
We’re all used to looking at a screen before or in bed, but the bright light is horrible for the brain when it’s preparing for sleep. In fact, looking at your phone in bed can keep you up for hours.
Instead of looking at any screen (that includes the TV), do something else an hour before bed – read a book, meditate, run through your evening self-care routine. That’s how you’ll be sending a clear signal to your brain that it is now bedtime, and that it needs to slow down and drift away.
Doing the same things in the same order before bedtime is a great way to doze off faster. So once you establish a routine you like and find soothing, try to execute it repeatedly.
Get up no matter what
Sleeping in on the weekend may feel great – especially if you haven’t been sleeping during the week – but it will actually mess up your sleeping pattern. Focus on finding the appropriate bedtime and wakeup time, one that keeps you most energized, and stick to it every day of the week.
This will help your body wake itself up naturally after the proper amount of sleep.
Final thoughts
Sleep is one of the pillars of a healthy life, and so much of our wellness depends on it. Focus on improving it as much as you can, and watch as you become more energized, more focused, more productive, and more jubilant.
Share
Contributors
