Getting a good night’s sleep is nothing more than a dream for some people. But even those who can sleep like a baby experience a restless night or two (or five) on occasion. When that happens, we can feel it. Without those critical eight hours beneath our belt, we wake up lethargic, lacking the energy we’re used to sustaining us throughout the day.
It’s as though there’s a mental fog clouding our cognitive capacity, which makes it nearly impossible to focus or function at our finest. And after those really rough nights, hey, you might be proud of yourself for just making it through the entire day without crying.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but by and large, the jury agrees that poor sleep quality can make us grumpy, irritable, forgetful, more susceptible to stress, depression, anxiety… the list of health implications would need an entire blog post of its own! Today’s topic, however, is less concerned about neural science, and more concerned with what you can do to actually fix the problem so you can pull yourself out of a funk.
Here are five tips to improve your quality of sleep overnight, starting with the moment your head hits the pillow—you can even count them off like sheep to hit the hay a little faster!
1. Keep away from caffeine
Spoiler alert: caffeine is a stimulant. You probably (hopefully!) already knew that, but you might not be aware of how long it can keep your mind active and heart rate elevated. That
afternoon pick-me-up you hope will carry you through the final stretch of a long afternoon might be the reason you toss and turn, even though it was consumed hours ago.
And it’s not just coffee that’s the culprit—coffee, tea, chocolate, and everything else containing caffeine should be on your radar list, too. If you slipped and accidentally consumed something that gives you restless leg syndrome throughout the night, try winding down with some powerful CBD gummies that can knock the jitters right out of you.
2. Use more natural lighting (and less of the stuff)
Ever heard of a thing called “circadian rhythm”? It sounds like a dance move, but it actually refers to your body’s internal alarm clock. These 24-hour cycles are continuously running in the background to carry out essential functions—most importantly, the sleep-wake cycle. It’s responsible for flooding your bloodstream with the chemicals to induce tiredness or prompt alertness at the right time.
It’s pretty neat because at one point, the circadian rhythm was in sync with the earth’s orbit around the sun. You’d feel tired when the sun went down and awake once it got light again in the morning. Nowadays, however, our bodies get confused because the blue light emanating from tech devices like your TV, cell phone, and laptop trick our brains into believing it’s daytime, which makes it harder to fall asleep at an appropriate hour.
As promised, we’re not going to bore you with the technicalities. Just trust us when we say that you should try to turn off bright lights a couple hours before you want to fall asleep.
3. Sanctify Your Sleep Space
You’re not going to like this one, but if you really want to overhaul your overnight experience, rid your bedroom of all the distractions you can. Your bed should be exclusively reserved for sleeping—not watching television shows or scrolling through
social media while eating a late-night snack. Will you be staring at the ceiling for a while as you get used to the new routine? Probably. But give it some time and you’ll be amazed by how quickly you fall into a deep sleep once your body learns to shut itself down upon crawling into its sacred space.
That being said, we know it’s not necessarily easy to simply flip a “sleep switch”, especially for people who struggle with insomnia. If you need to relax before bed, we suggest reading a book, taking a bath, using essential oils, or practice meditation. Or why not all of the above?!
Wrapping Up
The feeling of being very well-rested is something you have to experience to understand. Once you get a taste of all the benefits, remember to keep these tips in mind so that you never fall back into a perpetual state of sleepiness!
