Ten Strategies You Can Use for Better Sleep - Tonight
As you probably know, sleep is a crucial factor to functioning in your daily life - but not only just being able to function, but to be able to thrive and do well each day you need good sleep. Oftentimes, people are getting too little sleep, too much sleep, broken sleep, or just plain old bad sleep. Many people have no sleep “routine” or “schedule”. If you’re anything like me, you only had around 5-6 hours last night for sleep because your toddler decided to be up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night… No? Only me? That’s okay. I’m here today to say this isn’t typical for me, and you don’t have to get crappy sleep forever. Today, let’s cover ten tips for better sleep that you can use tonight. While these are simple strategies to start implementing, some do take time to get you the sleep you need and deserve. First, let’s talk about the things that can contribute to bad sleep, that may need to be addressed first before you can really get the best sleep for you.
Outside Contributors to Bad Sleep
While it may seem as if not getting enough sleep is the reason you’re always tired, it doesn’t necessarily mean lack of sleep is the leading cause of your suffering. There are diseases and other factors that can cause lack of sleep or bad sleep, and also the lack of sleep can make these issues even worse. This list isn’t exhaustive by any means, but remember, you may need a closer look from your primary care doctor, therapist, medication provider, or any other professional you see before you can just assume bad sleep is causing your overall tiredness. Here are three things that could be contributing to bad sleep overall:
Depression: One factor of mental health that can contribute to poor sleep is depression. Not only that, less sleep, or sleeping too much can also increase the depressive symptoms you experience in your life as well. To elaborate further, depression is also caused oftentimes by thoughts and actions you may already be taking. There could also be a genetic link to depression, and some issues with the way the brain processes dopamine and other chemicals of the brain. However, depression can be worked through in many cases with therapy, and sometimes medication management. By working to reduce depression and increase the positive activities in your life, you can start to have more restful sleep and less time spent sleeping overall.
Restless Leg Syndrome: At Life in Bloom Counseling, we typically stick to the mental health side of things. However, it’s worth noting that medical issues like restless leg syndrome can be effecting your sleep quality, and quantity. Checking in with your primary care doctor can help you evaluate whether there are things you can do during the day or medications you might take to reduce the symptoms of restless leg syndrome. By addressing the issue of restless leg syndrome, you can start to improve your sleep. Which will in turn, improve your life.
Stress (at home, work, school, etc.): While it may seem difficult to not stress about work, school, home, etc., it’s crucial to work on strategies to limiting the amount of stress you are experiencing on a daily basis so you can get a better nights sleep. If you cannot limit the stress, you can start to work with a therapist, start a journal, or read self-help books on the power of letting go, so you are able to stress less and sleep more. Not only is stress bad on your sleep, stress can be made worse by the lack of sleep you’re getting. Lack of sleep causes people to get overwhelmed more easily, have less ability to manage their emotions, and to think logically in times of stress because the brain isn’t firing with all it’s energy. Find a therapist today, or start a journal to work on letting stress go at the end of each day before you hit the lights.
As stated before, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it does encompass different areas of your life that you may need to seek professional or self-help in to get yourself on track for better sleep overall. Let’s talk about the 10 strategies you can use tonight to get some rest.
10 Strategies for Better Sleep
Avoid Napping:
Personally, I will likely avoid napping for the majority of my life until I’m totally and utterly burnt out. But this is not the case for everyone. Some people believe they need that midday nap, or a short snooze in the morning to help them “perk up”. The reality is, napping can interrupt all rhythms for nighttime sleep, which in turn causes sleep loss, or causes you to sleep too much. Not only that, maybe you go to bed later because of a nap, but you also may wake more frequently in the night because the pressure to stay asleep (i.e. feeling tired) wears off sooner since you already had your power nap. Once the cycle of napping is created during the day, it may be hard to break since you have to fight through the time you’d normally nap so you can get to bed at a decent hour. However, once you’ve broken the cycle of daytime napping, you can start getting better about strategy number 5 - setting times to sleep and wake. There’s one caveat here, if you truly need a snooze in the middle of the day - try to limit this nap to 15 to 20 minutes. I know, what’s the point if it’s so short? Well, the act of just resting for that amount of time can give you the boost you’re looking for to make it until bedtime.
Watch Food and Drink Intake:
Eating healthy is crucial to a good nights sleep because it gives your body nutrients it needs to produce good hormones like melatonin (which is naturally produced throughout the day). Not only can good meals help you to sleep better, you can also start to implement foods like turkey, pistachios, or other foods containing tryptophan (a sleepy chemical), that help you get to sleep at night and stay asleep. In addition, you may want to limit food intake near or around bedtime because a full stomach, while it may put you into a “food coma”, it can also cause you to wake up more at night, and feel less satisfied with your overall sleep because of how much you were awake but didn’t know it throughout the night. Drinking before bed is fine if you don’t get up to pee at night (like me), but if you do tend to get up to use the restroom - stay away from drinking anything other than water for 2 hours before bed, and limit water intake to sips before hopping into bed. Getting your hormones balanced, adding in sleepy foods, eating earlier, and drinking less can all contribute to a better nights sleep.
Create Your Sleep Environment:
While some say “I need noise to sleep” or “I have to have the TV on to sleep”, these things may be interrupting your sleep instead. The brain is hardwired to be awake with sound and light, which is why people often use these things to stay awake during the day when feeling sleepy. Additionally, your brain also associates your bed with whatever activities you do there. If you’re watching television, turning on a YouTube video on your phone, or anything else to “help you sleep” you’re creating an environment where your brain is on not off during the night. The way to create the ideal sleep environment is to limit light, sound, and make it a cool temperature. Eliminate sound by using a sound machine to make a consistent sound that is less likely to wake you during the night when the rhythm changes. Have a night light that shuts off until you walk by it, so you don’t have to worry about lighting if you’re a bathroom goer at night (like me). The room being a cool temperature is best for your sleep since being hot and sweaty tends to wake most people up. Your body has to regulate your temperature down when you’re hot, but can relax when you’re cool and comfortable - which gives you the better sleep you need and deserve.
Disconnect from Devices:
We have all heard this one, and I won’t go too much into it here. But I will say, getting off your phone at least 1 hour before bed can help your brain settle down. While you might be thinking “my phone helps me sleep”, that’s just your brains way of saying “I’m sick of looking at this, I need to sleep” so your eyes start to close and you drift off. However, your brain is robbed of good sleep because the shutting down process is not completed until you’re about 1 hour into your sleep cycle. Not only can this cause less sleep, it can cause interrupted sleep (think phone still playing music or video while you’re asleep since you didn’t turn it off). It can also cause bad sleep because your brain never gets to fully relax. Set the devices down, read a book like strategy number 10 says, and remember - you’re not missing anything on your phone, you’re missing sleep.
Set Times to Sleep and Wake:
I’m not a perfectionist on this strategy. This has been a struggle my whole life to sleep consistently. However, having done it for a while in recent years, I know that a consistent sleep schedule gave me more energy than my extra large hot coffee or Celsius ever did. Pick whatever time you’re already going to bed as your start point for this, make it easy on yourself. Then gradually work to an earlier more suitable bedtime for your schedule and your wake up time. Your wake up time may be easier to follow than sleeping earlier. And once you start getting up (say at 6am instead of 8am right before you have to leave for work), your body and brain will naturally respond by making you more tired earlier on in the evening. Make the wake up time reasonable as well. Not everyone can wake up at 4am or 5am. Though it is quite trendy to pretend people do that regularly now… Anyways, pick times for bed and waking that work for you, start small and gradually work back to a good bedtime so you can get better, more regular, and have less wake ups throughout the night.
Cut Out Vices:
While I know this isn’t the easy one to do, this is one of the most important ones. Vices doesn’t just include alcohol, cigarettes, vaping, or tobacco use in general. Vices also includes phone addiction, caffeine intake, overspending, and anything else that is causing you more harm than good. I know coffee is good, I’m not saying you can’t have it at all. One of the best things to do with caffeine is to have it earlier in the day and avoid it after 12p.m. (unless you work overnights of course). Cutting out cigarettes and vaping at least 2 or more hours (or altogether) can help you sleep more, sleep better, and stay asleep throughout the night. Nicotine is a stimulant, causing your brain to fire more, which means if you have a smoke or vape before bed, you are waking up your brain. Alcohol is a depressant, however, it stimulates the brain and body into purging mode. Meaning if you drink close to bedtime, your brain and body are up most of the night transferring alcohol out of your system. I’ve never seen someone drink the night before and wake up with more energy the next day - it just doesn’t happen. Why did I mention overspending? Well, remember how I said stress in your life can cause bad sleep? Overspending doesn’t make you happy (albeit just for a moment it might), it makes you stressed. The more overspending, the more stressed. If you’re struggling with overspending, it can create more than stress as well, but regardless - it’s crucial to work on lessening or eliminating this habit. Eliminating vices altogether is a great strategy - for help with this get in touch with a therapist on our “meet the team” page. Limiting vices is also a good strategy to lessen your sleep problems. Give it a try!
Get More Time Outside:
I don’t think I need to say much about this, except this… Getting into the sun at least 15 minutes each day can help with melatonin production, resulting in better sleep overall, and helping you get to sleep faster. Plus, all that fresh air makes any person tired. So, get outside - make it 15 minutes at least or go for longer - totally up to you!
Be Active Regularly:
This is something you can start today. I know it’s not going to be a regular thing until you implement it on a regular basis, but by starting today you eliminate the monster of procrastination that says “tomorrow sounds better”. Tomorrow always sounds better to procrastination and the brain. But getting a brisk walk in today, can help make it easier for you to take one tomorrow, and the next day as well. Add in an activity in your life that brings you joy. You don’t have to weightlift, or walk. You can box, do ballet, dance, or anything else with regular movement and moderate intensity. This gives your body and brain a dose of endorphins to create energy for the day, and to help your body rest more peacefully at night. Try it out for at least 2 weeks and see how much your sleep improves!
Practice Mindful Breathing:
Okay, I know what you’re thinking, “this is nonsense”. But hear me out (or read me out…)… Breathing is natural, something you do regularly, and without thought. When you put thought into it, you’re giving your brain a new way to respond to stress, anxiety, depression, and anything else that goes on in your life - including getting to sleep at night within a reasonable timeframe. Breathwork doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when practicing your breathing. Try breathing in so your ribcage and lungs down low are expanding more than your chest and shoulders. If you have a hard time with this, touch your ribcage and try imagining your breath going right to your hands. Take a slow deep breath in for at least 4 seconds, and let it out for at least 6 seconds. The long breath out is one of the crucial parts as it tells your body and brain to relax and let go of stress and other problems from the day. Focus on your breathing as best you can and practice regularly before bed. Try it tonight and see how much better you sleep!
Read a Book:
Maybe reading isn’t your thing… That’s okay, that will mean it’ll help you sleep even more. Try picking a book you might enjoy (or you definitely enjoy), and start reading it. This strategy is pretty simple. While reading might stimulate your brain, it won’t wake your brain up in the way your phone will and likely, it’s easier for you to put down a book than your phone. So, grab a book and give it a try. It’s worth taking notes of how much better you’re sleeping when you read before bed instead of using your phone.
While this list isn’t exhaustive on what you can do today for better sleep tonight, this is a place for you to start. You don’t have to keep getting broken, bad, or limited sleep. By creating a good environment, reading books, breathing, getting good food and activity in during the day, and all the other things mentioned here you can start to sleep better and feel more well-rested. Remember, it’s key to implement one strategy at a time, and notice how it does or does not affect your sleep. Implement each strategy for a least 2 weeks before adding another, removing one, or continuing the use of the strategy that seems to work best. By noticing and truly putting in effort with a strategy, you are more likely to get better sleep for the long-term than if you try one thing and say “oh it didn’t work” and then stop trying altogether. I can promise you, doing nothing isn’t helping you already - so it’s good to try at least something and at least for 2 weeks.
Conclusion
As a mental health professional, I believe in sleep being one of the best medicines for mental, physical, and emotional health. If you’re not sleeping well or enough, I can already tell you that there will be other problems arising from lack of sleep alone in your life that you may not have realized yet. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. You can absolutely start to sleep better, sleep more, and get up less in the middle of the night just by taking action. While somethings may need resolution like depression, and other life problems, before you can get good sleep. It’s worth noting you can always start working on strategies today, and begin noticing how or if they help you. Keep in mind that some strategies need time to build up in your system and work, and if you only try once, you haven’t really given them their best shot. Try a new strategy today, find a therapist to work on your mental health with, and start sleeping better overall.
Remember, your life is always in bloom - sleep helps you become a well-sustained flower.
Sources
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