Do you have sleep goals? I do – and so should you! Sticking to a bedtime is the first step in getting a good night’s rest. Why is sleep so important, you may ask? (Seriously, I don’t know who would ask that.) Because to maintain a healthy lifestyle, your body needs time to rest and reset. A good night’s sleep is equally important to eating healthy and exercising. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults and young adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep. You don’t have to tell me twice… I love to sleep! Being a nerd who loves charts, I utilize my Fitbit in order to track my sleep, analyze my cycle, and accomplish my sleep goals.
If you have trouble sleeping, I’m here to help with 5 tips that I’ve always followed.
Punctuality is KEY
That means you need to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Most of us have utilized an alarm clock to wake up. But have you set a reminder to go to bed alarm (thank you, Fitbit)? Consistency is key – set that alarm! Most smart phones and smart watches have this feature built into it now. If you’re not sure how to set one, ask me!
Stay away from screens
For the last hour of your day – stay away from screens! Turn off your bright lights about 1 – 2 hours before bed. Turn off those screens about 1 hour before bed. That’s right, your phone, tablet, TV… OFF. I prefer to read my Kindle every night in order to avoid the “blue light blues” from my phone.
Keep cool
Your brain temperature needs to drop its temperature 2-3 °F in order to sleep. So drop that thermostat before bedtime – or use a product such as Chillipad – to help drop your body temperature. I prefer to keep my room cold and put on fuzzy socks for a good nights rest. Another way to trick your body is by taking a warm bath before bed. When you take a warm bath, all of the blood rushes to the surface – then when you get out, you have a enormous release of heat from the body, and your core body temperate drops drastically.
Feed yourself… but avoid a food coma.
As much as I love a delicious pasta coma – it’s bad for your sleep. You’ll want to avoid going to bed on an empty stomach, for obvious reasons. But going to bed with a full stomach isn’t beneficial either. Get in the healthy habit of eating at least 1 – 2 hours before bed in order to allow your body to properly digest that meal. I’m in the habit of taking my dog for a walk after dinner (seriously, she won’t let me skip this). This allows my body to digest my meal and I’m not tossing and turning all night.
Take supplements
Melatonin is a great supplement to trick your body into bedtime. Melatonin fools your brain into thinking: oh, it’s bedtime! It’s wonderful to use when traveling between time zones. It doesn’t technically help you stay asleep, but if its working for you then keep taking it! Melatonin is mostly beneficial when creating a new sleep routine.
