When my friend turned 30 I gave her one (good) piece of advice. Get enough sleep. I don’t know what it was about my 30th year but I was just tired – all. the. time. Maybe it was my 20’s catching up on me or hormonal changes – who knows.
I can do late nights and early mornings, WELL, I can function anyway. But I don’t feel my best. And lack of sleep is something that we ALL suffer with. Especially in these always connected times. Remember when not being able to sleep was solved with a warm milky drink or a bath? These days it means that the smart phone up gets picked up and e-fiddling begins. A flick through facebook, a tweet to reach out to others who are not sleeping. The blue light waking our brains even more – regardless of whether our eyes are heavy and our bodies need rest.
But making sure you get a good nights sleep isn’t just for the weak, it means increased energy and productivity, improved heart and immune system health, a better mood, even a longer life.
So here are just three simple tips on getting a more restful nights sleep…
Get a notebook and spend five minutes before you settle down to just write whatever is in your head. You don’t have to make a list and the notes don’t even have to make sense. The idea is to release the clutter from your brain so you don’t spend all night with your mind working overtime.
Ditch your alarm. You use your iPhone right? Most of us do but you know switching your phone off and leaving it out of your bedroom in itself will ensure you have a better nights sleep. No distractions, no temptations and no pesky wi-fi signals doing the samba around your head whilst you try to rest. But it’s not just about removing the connectivity from your sleeping area, it’s also to do with ditching that annoying marimba alarm tone and using something that wakes you gradually. An alarm that uses natural light to stir you or music that will be soothing and calm is the best way to bring you out of your slumber without waking you up with a start and causing a bad mood before your feet even touch the ground.
Think about what you’re eating. You don’t need to be told not to guzzle coffee or pop before you go to sleep. You KNOW that caffeine and sleep are not natural bed partners. But if you eat foods that contain tryptophan such as turkey, yogurt, milk, oats, peanuts and bananas then you’ll find you’ll start feeling sleepy earlier and will be more inspired to get yourself to bed.
With everything constantly being on, we really need to make more of an effort to switch ourselves off.
What are your tips for a good nights sleep?
Some great points made here, I think I need to try the phone one. I had a terrible nights sleep last night and hoping for a better one tonight.
DEFFO agree with the phone point! I am so tempted to look at notifications whenever I wake up it’s so annoying x
Great Tips. I try not to eat late at night, brush my teeth early so that I am ready to hit the bed. Getting a routine works for me the best. I try to get into the routine of going to bed and getting up at similar times. I try to finish everything I need to do before the bed time so that my mind is freed. Otherwise, all the small things bother me. I also use my radio alarm to wake up. It is nice to wake up to your favorite radio show.
Hi Rachel,
Great tips you shared on simple steps to sleep better 🙂 Thank you for these valuable tips!! Nice share