18 Tips For Better Sleep

Regularity
This essentially involves going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time.
Regularity will anchor your sleep and improve both the quantity and the quality no matter whether it’s the weekday or the weekend or even if you’ve had a bad night’s sleep.
This is because steeped within your brain, you have a 24-hour master clock that expects regularity and works best under conditions of regularity including the control of your sleep, wake schedule.

Temperature
Keep it cool. Turns out that your brain and your body need to drop their core temperature by about 1 degree Celsius, in order to initiate sleep and then to stay asleep.
This is the reason that you will always find it easier to fall asleep in a room that’s cold rather than hot.
The current recommendation is to aim for a bedroom temperature of around about 18 degrees Celsius.

Increase bright light exposure during the day
Bright light during the day helps your body’s natural time-keeping clock, known as your circadian rhythm, to stay healthy.

Darkness
You need darkness to trigger the release of a hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin helps regulate the healthy timing of your sleep in the last hour before bed.
Try to stay away from bright computer screens and phones.
Dim down half the lights in your house, you will be surprised at how sleepy that can make you feel.
Wearing an eye mask or having blackout shades can help a great deal

Turn your bedroom into a comfortable and peaceful space
Minimize external noise, light, and artificial lights from devices like alarm clocks.
Make sure your bedroom is a welcoming, quiet, clean and enjoyable place for you to come and relax.

Walk it out
Don’t stay in bed, lying awake for long periods of time.
As a rule of thumb, if you have been trying to fall asleep and it’s been 25 minutes or so and you still can’t get back to sleep, get out of bed and go and do something different.

The reason behind this is that your brain is an incredibly associative device and the bed is this trigger of wakefulness.
You need to break that association and by getting out of bed and doing something else and only return to bed when you are sleepy.
That way, your brain will gradually relearn the association that your bed is this place of sleep.

Don’t let your pet sleep in your bed
Research has shown that pet owners who let their pets sleep with them have more sleep disruption and have lower quality sleep.

Stay away from caffeine
Don’t consume foods or beverages that contain caffeine any later than mid-afternoon, including tea, chocolates and some soft drinks.

Have a wind-down routine
You expect to be able to dive into bed at night, switch off the light and be able to fall asleep immediately.
Unfortunately, sleep does not happen like that most of the time.
For a good night’s sleep, disengage from your computer and your phone, 30 minutes before bedtime.
Try to do something relaxing, find whatever works for you and when you have found it stick to that routine.

Don’t have alcohol close to bedtime
Alcohol interferes with your natural sleep patterns and brainwaves.
You might fall asleep easily and you might even sleep through the night, but you will not wake up feeling rested.

Reduce blue light exposure in the evening
Large amounts of blue light are found in most of your electronic devices such as smartphones and computers.
Wearing glasses that block blue light can help in this regard.
Also, most smartphones have apps that you can install to minimize blue light exposure.

Avoid longer daytime naps
Long or irregular napping during the day can negatively affect your sleep as it can confuse your circadian rhythm, your body’s internal clock.
However, napping for 30 minutes or less can enhance daytime brain function.
If on the other hand you are used to taking longer regular
daytime naps and still sleep well at night, you should not need to worry.

Don’t eat late in the evening
Eating late at night may negatively affect your quality of sleep
This can be due to the fact that your brain uses glucose to function.
If you eat late at night, close to bedtime, it will wake you up, because your brain is working instead of sleeping.

Take a relaxing bath or shower
A relaxing bath or shower can help you relax before going to sleep.
Studies indicate that taking a bath can help to improve overall sleep quality.

Get a comfortable bed, mattress, and pillow
The quality of your bed can also affect sleep as well as increase the risk of lower back pain.
It is recommended that you replace your bedding at least every 5–8 years.

Don’t exercise before going to bed
Exercise is one of the best contributors to improved sleep.
It has been used to reduce symptoms of insomnia.
However, performing it too late in the day may cause sleep problems.
Exercise has a stimulatory effect, which increases alertness and hormones like epinephrine and adrenaline.

Don’t drink any liquids before bed
Ideally, you should not drink any fluids two hours before going to bed, so that it has enough time to pass through your bladder before bedtime. Also head off to the bathroom, right before going to sleep.

Take a melatonin supplement
Melatonin is the hormone that tells your brain when it’s time to relax and go to sleep.
It is advisable to start with a low dose to assess your tolerance and then increase it slowly as needed.

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Take a supplement that contains one of these:

Valerian root is another natural sleep aid, with several studies suggesting that valerian can help you fall asleep and improve sleep quality.

Magnesium improves sleep quality and aids in relaxation

L-theanine is an amino acid and can improve relaxation and sleep.

Lavender is widely used in aromatherapy and has calming and sedentary properties that have been proven to be very beneficial as a sleep aid.

Clary sage oil may also increase relaxation, which helps to promote sleep.
Do not try ALL of these supplements at the same time, rather try one at a time, to see which one is best suited for you.

Note: If you suffer from a sleep disorder, for example from insomnia or sleep apnea then these tips aren’t necessarily going to help you.

Sources
pubmed.gov – relationship between insomnia and body temperatures
night eating syndrome
environmental noise and sleep disturbances
melatonin the key to the gate of sleep
interaction between the homeostatic and circadian processes of sleep
daytime naps in healthy adults
light at night increases body mass
bright light treatment improves sleep
effectiveness of a selected bedding system on quality of sleep