Not sleeping, not only makes you less efficient and more stressed, it is also terrible for your health.
Fatigue leads to short and long term problems with mental and physical health.
Here’s what you can do to help yourself fall asleep.
Table of Contents
Dim the lights in your room
Bright light tells your brain that it’s still daytime and prevents the release of chemicals critical for sleep, like melatonin.
Sources: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Harvard Medical School
Put your phone and other electronics away
Studies have shown that watching a screen before bedtime is terrible for your sleep — whether it’s a TV screen, tablet, or phone.
Sources: Sleep and Biological Rhythms
Don’t drink too much coffee
Caffeine alters the melatonin levels in your brain, even if you aren’t drinking right before bed time.
Sources: Sleep Medicine, Brain Research
Don’t drink too much alcohol
Even light drinkers take longer to fall asleep, sleep less well, and sleep for less time than their sober neighbors. And alcohol even increases the odds of sleep illnesses like apnea.
Sources: NIH, The American Journal of Medicine
Sleep next to someone that makes you happy
The bulk of the evidence collected in a review suggests happy couples sleep better together.
Source: Sleep Medicine Reviews
Create a bedtime routine
There doesn’t appear to be a ton of research on the impact of bedtime habits in adults, but research in children shows they can be very helpful.
Source: Sleep
Keep your feet and hands warm
Research shows that a warm water bottle or socks against your feet and/or hands as you lay in bed makes a measurable difference in the speed at which you fall asleep.
Source: Nature
Cool down your room
The Harvard’s sleep lab recommends setting your thermostat a bit down — to as low as 60 degrees, but really whatever you find is most comfortable.
Source: Harvard Medical School
Take a warm bath
Before you go to sleep, take a warm bath. It helps you pass out and make you sleep deeper once you are asleep.
Source: Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology
Find the happy place in your head
Research has shown that focusing on and envisioning pleasant images while you lay in bed can bring the calm necessary for sleep. There are apps that can help you with this. I’ve listed some free apps that can help you sleep below.
- Sleep Cycle. Sleep Cycle tracks your sleep and wakes you up when you’re least groggy.
- Apple Bedtime. Apple’s Bedtime feature is a simple twist on the standard alarm clock.
- Pillow. Pillow works like Apple’s Bedtime, but also lets you set an array of timed naps.
- Pzizz. Uses psychoacoustic principles to create beautiful dreamscapes that will help you fall asleep fast, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed
- Headspace: Meditation.
- Calm. Sleep Stories, Guided Meditations, Music and More.
Source: Behavioral Research and Therapy
Listen to music
Listen to music that you find calming.
Source: Journal of Advanced Nursing
Fill your room with a lavender scent
Studies show that lavender scents helped men and women sleep more deeply and wake up feeling more energetic.
Source: Restonic
Try some melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone your body secretes on its own, believed to be involved in regulating your circadian rhythms. It can be purchased relatively cheaply without a prescription at any drug store and it’s harmless. Consult with a doctor or pharmacist, and start with a low dose and work your way up until you find one that works for you.
Source: nccih.nih.gov
Figure out what works for you
Every person is unique, and the specific tricks that work for you may vary. In addition to the big, important tips like stop drinking alcohol and looking at your phone or other electronics late at night, try the others one or two at a time. Stick with what makes a difference.
If all else fails, go to your doctor
Some people have insomnia that won’t shake on its own, no matter what they do. A doctor should be able to diagnose the underlying issue. Harvard Medical School has a helpful page on its website with more information on when to seek treatment.
Photo by Claudia Mañas on Unsplash
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