Sleep is the most important ingredient for most things. Want to ace that big exam, interview or presentation? Sleep more. Want to lose weight? Sleep more. Want to be more friendly or grateful? Sleep more.
And yet, night after night we find ourselves losing track of time watching TV or browsing the Internet and before we know it, it’s way past our bed time.
..It can’t be just me who does this?
Lately, though, I’ve been making a big effort to not be my own worst enemy and, as a result, I’ve been sleeping really well. Here are some of the things that have worked for me!
1. Night time yoga. The 7:30-8:45pm class has become an almost daily practice now. I love going to yoga at this time because it does a perfect job at relaxing me and quieting my mind before bed. The best pose for insomnia? Legs in the air or up a wall.
2. Meditation apps. I downloaded, “Relax Melodies-Free” a couple of months ago. It’s an app with all kinds of soothing and natural sounds, and you can mix and match sounds, as well as, set a sleep timer. There are so many free apps similar to this one, I definitely recommend looking into them!
3. Shut down electronics 30 minutes before bed. This is a big one. Unplug. Read a book before bed. Shower. Meditate. Snuggle. Anything other than starring at your computer, TV or cellphone.
4. Don’t drink water right before bed. I stop drinking water usually after dinner to make sure I don’t wake up in the middle of the night. This works well for me since I drink so much water during the day.
5. Turn off distracting lights and sounds. Make sure the lights from computers, printers, clocks, etc. aren’t distracting or affecting your sleep. Get a fan for white noise if it’s loud outside your bedroom and wear sleep mask if there’s uncontrollable light in your room (I did this in college and couldn’t have been happier).
6. Exercise every day. Even on rest days, try to do something active like go for a walk or stretch.
What are you tips for getting a restful, deep night sleep? How important is sleep to your functionality?
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
for me it is ALLL ABOUT A SLEEP ROUTINE!
I treat myself like a toddler
So true! If I stay up late on the weekends I always find it so hard to go to bed early Sunday night.
Haha, same to both of you ladies! Like a toddler, a warm bath or shower, shutting down electronics, cozy blankets, and a good story
Childhood habits die hard.
I took my first yoga class Monday night and it was amazing. I was telling my friend, who went with me, that I had to find a way to fit it into my budget. Either that or invest in a few yoga DVDs I can do at home.
I’ve never tried meditation apps, even though I one point I did have one. I just never used it. That may be something I seriously need to consider doing. I don’t give myself any stasis in my days where I’m just quiet, unmoving, and clearing my head. It’s probably why, aside from not getting enough sleep, I often so discomfited and anxious throughout my days.
I was also doing good not being on my computer or phone before bed (I’d started reading), and that has backpedaled recently. I really need to reform better bedtime habits for myself. And drinking water right before hasn’t been a problem for me lately. I don’t wake up by way of my bladder at night. For some reason, it will just hold it all in there until the morning, and then I wake up with unpleasant “have-to-go-to-the-bathroom-right-now!” cramps.
I’ve thought about taking walks around my neighborhood, too. The only problem is that some days I get off after 6 or 7, and by that time it’s too dark, which is why I was wanting to invest in some yoga DVDs.
These were all really great suggestions, Caroline! I’m totally going to pin this.
There are tons of inexpensive yoga resources available. You should check out yogadownload.com – they have some free online classes available!
I love this! I’ve been working hard on getting more (and better!) sleep for the past few weeks and I consistently get around 8-9 hours now. Typically, I started shutting everything down and preparing for bed by 8:30 so I’m reading for lights out at 9:00. Since I wake up by 5:00-5:15 to work out, it works out so well and I don’t feel as crazy when the alarm goes off.
Also, no caffeine helps IMMENSELY. Ha. And I quickly found out if I had it anytime at night, I was up for an hour trying to get to sleep.
Great posts and great tips!
Look at you waking up at 5am to work out! I’m impressed. I’ve fallen off the early morning workout wagon for almost a year now. This is so not like me! It has helped me discover night time yoga though so I can’t totally hate it ; )
Sleep totally changes my day/life. I need it. I do a lot to make sure I get it, but unfortunately even a lot is not always enough for my annoying body. I will have to try the yoga pose though!
Sleep is SO important to me, so as I have gotten older, I have made it more of a priority. I used to stay up way too late and then would be over tired and would sleep in way too late on the weekend. And then I couldn’t get to sleep on Sunday night and it was just an ugly cycle.
These days I am pretty much always in bed by around 8:30-9 so I can read for 30-60 minutes before turning my lights off at 9:30. I get up at 5-5:30 so really try to stick to that bedtime so I can get around 8 hours. I rarely am on my computer for the last 1-2 hours before I go to bed as I feel like it overstimulates my brain and makes it tough to sleep. That said, I still have my bad weeks/days…. but my sleep quality has been pretty decent lately which is nice!
YES, SLEEP! The cure-all! It is sooo important, and sometimes I feel like the only 20-something that feels this way. I am in bed by 9:30-10 most nights and I get up at 6:30. I must get 8 hours to be any sort of functional person at all.
very good tips.
I’ve really been trying to work on my sleep consistency lately. The times I go to bed are all over the place! I haven’t had much luck yet, but right now I’m trying to focus on not using electronics before bed. So usually I’ll read in bed for a little while before I go to sleep. It hasn’t made my bedtime more steady, but I think it’s helped me fall asleep better/faster.