How to Get a Better Night’s Sleep
Sleep is crucial for overall health and wellbeing. Good sleep can help our bodies and minds recover keeping us happy, mentally focused, and healthy. Disrupted sleep can disrupt our hormones, increase risk of illness, and make us age faster. Sometime despite all we do sleep still eludes us. These tips can help improve your sleep.
- Create a sleep routine.
- Create a routine of calming activities to do each night, these can include reading, stretching, and/or taking a nice warm bath.
- Try to keep a consistent schedule.
- When possible, go to bed and wake at the same time each day. A consistent routine will help our bodies “know” when we want to be sleeping, and when we want to be waking.
- Turn off electronics.
- Digital devices and blue light stimulate our brain and often add stress to our lives. Try to unplug from electronics at least 30 minutes before bed. If you must be using electronics, try to some blue light blocking glasses to help decrease the strain.
- Do a brain dump.
- When you are tossing and turning thinking about all of the things you have to do tomorrow grab a paper and pen and write it all down. Writing these things down allows the mind to stop focusing on them and allows us to relax.
- Try to sleep at least seven hours.
- Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Generally speaking, we benefit more from going to bed before midnight, and getting 7-9 consecutive hours. Try adding 30 minutes to your current sleep time and go from there. If your schedule is disrupted, or you are unable to sleep through the night, a nap during the day can usually help.
- See your doctor.
- If you are consistently struggling with sleep, check in with your doctor or health care team. It’s possible you are having some health issues that are impacting your sleep. Your healthcare team can run tests and assessments.
Good sleep is good for your health, so do your best to make it a priority. While you can’t directly control how much you actually sleep, you can control your sleep habits and routines. Take charge of your environment and actions, and enjoy your best sleep.
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