Do you toss and turn every night, struggle to stay asleep, and wake up feeling exhausted?
Sleep is essential for optimal health. If you aren’t getting quality sleep every night,
improving your health will be an uphill battle.
Not only does every morning become a challenge, but poor sleep is associated with
mood swings, hunger, elevated blood sugar, and reduced mental function—not ideal!
Sure, you can reach for a sleeping pill, but artificially induced sleep isn’t the same.
You need to fall asleep naturally to reach the deep, restorative stages of sleep, which
is why I always suggest building a strong sleep routine first, before relying on medications.
If you’re ready to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day, here are the
five best sleep tips I know:
Sleep Tip #1: Go to bed at the same time
Your body has a powerful internal clock known as your circadian rhythm, and it likes
routine. Going to bed at the same time is the best way to train your body for sleep.
After a week, you’ll feel your body start to get tired at the same time every night,
ready for a good night of sleep.
Don’t let weekends disrupt your routine either. Be sure to stick to your sleep schedule
even on your days off!
Sleep Tip #2: Turn off your electronics
The artificial light from phones, computer screens, and TVs sends signals to your
brain that it’s still daytime, disrupting the natural production of sleep hormones.
Be sure to avoid electronic screens for 1-2 hours before bed. Your late-night Netflix
binge session may feel relaxing, but they do make falling asleep far more difficult.
Sleep Tip #3: Avoid caffeine and alcohol
Most people know that caffeine is a stimulant—after all, we take it to wake us up!
What you probably don’t know is that caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours.
That means if you drink a cup of coffee at 3pm, half of that caffeine content will still
be circulating in your blood 5 hours later at 8pm, and it’ll be even later before it’s
fully flushed out of your system. So try to avoid caffeine after 1-2pm if possible.
I’d also suggest avoiding booze in the hours before bedtime. A nice glass of wine may
relax your body, but the alcohol prevents you from reaching the deepest stages of
Sleep.
Sleep Tip #4: Chill out
I’m not talking about stress—although that’s important too! I’m talking about the
temperature of your room.
Your body temperature drops when you sleep, and it’s been clearly shown that cooler
temperatures result in deeper sleep. If you regularly wake up tossing and turning, or
sweating in the night, turning down the temperature will promote the best sleep.
Sleep Tip #5: Minimize Stress
Finally, decreasing your stress before bed will make all the difference in the world. If
your mind is racing and cortisol is flooding your veins, your brain will have a hard
time winding down. Try reading some fiction, or stretching before bed.