A good relaxing sleep is very important for your health and sense of well being. It can be stressful when you have a hard time falling asleep or when the quality of your sleep is not good enough. Everyone needs 7-8 hours of peaceful relaxing sleep. If you are having issues with your sleep, here are 10 tips that can help you out:
1) See that you are sleeping in the right settings
Make sure there isn’t any sound disturbance, unpleasant smell, dust or clutter where you sleep.
Got a squeaky ceiling fan? Get it repaired. Clock ticking in your room? Replace it with a digital clock. Check for any kind of disturbing sound that can stop you from having a peaceful night’s sleep and fix it. Invest in a white noise machine or better yet a pink noise machine.
It’s preferable to keep it all dark in the room you are sleeping in. So, check if there is any light entering your room. Get better curtains if you see that light is entering your room.
Clean up your room so that there isn't any unpleasant smell. Your room should smell clean and fresh. A lavender-scented candle in your room can help you relax and unwind.
Tidy up your bed and the room. See that you have a comfortable bed, mattress and pillow. The pillow shouldn’t be too big or too small. It should rest your head in a comfortable position without hurting your neck.
Crack open a window so that there’s fresh air coming in. Temperature in your room can affect the quality of your sleep. For you to fall asleep, the temperature of the body needs to drop by 0.5 to 1° C. So, see that your room is cooler. But not too cold. The average temperature optimal for sleep is 20° C.
2) Try a sleep supplement
There are a lot of sleep supplements available in the market. The most recommended supplement in the market is Melatonin. Others include Gingko Biloba Extract, Glycine, Valerian Root, Magnesium, and L-Theanine.
There are also a lot of combinations of these supplements available in the market. See which one suits your needs. There’s one such product by the Neurohacker Collective. It claims that its sleep supplement does not have addictive dependency issues. Check it out: https://neurohacker.com/shop/qualia-night
3) Try these homemade remedies
The scent of Lavender can help you relax. So try using a lavender scented candle. You can also try drinking chamomile tea. It has mild sedative effects.
There is one more homemade recipe that you can try. Boil a whole banana with the peel on and put cinnamon powder in it. Strain it and drink the tea. It helps you fall asleep.
4) Avoid these things that disturb your sleep
Avoid drinking Tea or Coffee after evening. If possible, cut out caffeine completely from your diet. Apart from better sleep, it’ll have many other beneficial effects on your health.
Avoid alcohol as much as possible. Drinking alcohol affects the quality of your sleep. You don’t get as much REM sleep as you should. As a result you don’t feel rested enough when you wake up.
Don’t eat too late into the night. Avoid eating heavy before bed. Your meal should be light. And eat that meal in the evening or late evening not in the night.
Also avoid drinking liquids 1-2 hours before bed. Some people face the problem of Nocturia - having to wake up from sleep to pee.
5) Take care of your mental health
One of the major factors that affect your sleep is your mental health. Meditation is the most basic and fundamental exercise meant for good mental health. Meditation can do wonders, not only for the quality of sleep but also in countless many other areas of your life.
There are many kinds of meditations. For starters, guided meditation could be a good idea. But ideally you should aim for meditating on your own. That is the best and most useful kind of meditation you can do.
Here’s a very important tip: Meditate for an hour. The experience of meditating for an hour is not just quantitatively but qualitatively very different from meditating for 10-15 minutes. I know, meditation can be difficult for most people. But here’s what you should do - start! You keep doing it. Eventually you’ll keep getting better at it. If 1 hour seems too much for you, aim for at least 30 minutes.
You could also do some breathing exercises or Pranayama before going to bed. Some of the breathing exercises like Holotropic Breathwork and Wim Hof breathing exercises can help you relax and fall asleep.
Here’s a good one: Lie down with your body relaxed. Now breathe in and out with your mouth: not too deep and not too shallow. Moderate breaths in and out through your mouth. Do this for 15-30 minutes. It can be hard to keep it up for long. But keep at it. Because you are going to feel super relaxed at the end of it.
6) Avoid screen time before bed
The blue light from your phone messes with your sleep. Blue light is supposed to be seen only during the day. So, when your eyes see blue light at night, it sends the wrong signal to your body. That it is day instead of telling your body that it is night and it’s time to sleep.
I know this is easier said than done with all of us having the habit of using the phone as we lie down in our bed. But this can be replaced with something like reading a book. Not only will you avoid screen time, but also reading a book can help you fall asleep.
And if you still have to use your phone or laptop before bed, turn on the blue light filter which blocks all the blue light from your phone.
7) Take care of your physical health
One thing that can seriously help you with your sleep issue is including some kind of physical activity during the day. We have all grown used to the sedentary lifestyle. But all it takes is a little effort to include some physical activity or exercise in your routine. 30 minutes to an hour is all it will take.
Eating healthier is good for your overall health. But it can also drastically affect the quality of your sleep. Avoid junk food as much as you can. And include more raw vegetable, fruits and nuts into your diet.
8) Stick to a healthy sleep schedule
Having a regular sleep schedule can greatly help. Try to sleep early and wake up early. Staying up late can ruin the quality of your sleep.
Your body has this natural Circadian Rhythm. It demands rest as night arrives. But when you mess with this Circadian Rhythm by sleeping at late odd hours, the quality of your sleep deprivates.
Stick to a fixed sleeping and waking up time. When you have a fixed sleeping schedule, the body gets used to it. As soon as the scheduled sleeping time arrives, the body signals itself to relax and fall asleep.
Also avoid daytime naps as much as possible. And if you do need to take a nap, don’t nap for more than 30 minutes. A 30-minute nap will help you feel relaxed and refreshed. A one-hour nap or more will make you feel groggy and heavy headed after you wake up.
9) Before sleep routine
Having a nice unwinding routine before bedtime can really help. This could involve taking a relaxing bath or shower. Applying some moisturizer or other beauty care products. Applying some lavender essential oil. Lighting a lavender scented candle. Drinking some chamomile tea. Meditating before sleeping.
You can customize the routine to your likes and preferences. The activities in the routine will help you unwind and relax. When you do this for a couple of weeks, the body signals itself that it is time to sleep when you do the routine.
10) Know when to see a doctor
If your sleep problem still persists, maybe you need to see a doctor. He can check if you've got a sleeping disorder or other physical ailments that can hamper your sleep.
Follow these tips. They will help you with your sleep. Try them out and see which one works for you.