After Tuesday’s post talking about how little sleep we are getting around here lately, one would think that I am the last person you should be taking advice from about sleep. However sleep isn’t just about quantity, it’s about quality. Below are the things that I use to help drift off to sleep quicker, helping me to capitalise on the little amount of sleep that I get.
- Get rid of or cover your clock. Do you have an alarm clock right next to your bed? Get rid of that baby. If you need it for alarm purposes, just cover the screen. Why? What’s the one thing you do repeatedly when you can’t sleep? I bet it is check the time, sigh and notice that another 30 minutes has passed and you still haven’t fallen asleep. You get anxious thinking about how many hours there is until you have to get up for the day, meaning you are more likely to lay awake for another 30 minutes stressing about how little sleep you are getting.
- Do something you enjoy before going to sleep. So many articles talk about how you shouldn’t read or play games on your phone. I say bullshit. If playing mindless games on your phone before you sleep means that it takes your minds focus off stress you experienced through the day then go for it. If losing yourself in a book makes you feel safe and comfortable, then read to your hearts content.
- Avoid the news. I don’t know about you, but reading something that upsets me just before I go to bed does nothing to help me drift off into a peaceful sleep. Don’t watch the news. Don’t read the news. Go look at cute puppies instead.
- Shower just before you head to bed. For a lot of people a shower wakes them up. Not me, I have the water as hot as I can stand it (yes even in summer) and I feel cocooned in the water. I imagine the water washing off the stress of the day. I put my head under the stream and just enjoy the indulgence. I find on the days that I miss the shower or have it earlier in the night that I don’t feel as relaxed.
- Create an environment that helps YOU sleep. There are articles upon articles about ways that you can help to facilitate sleep with noise/no noise, dark/light or hot/cold. The truth is that there is no blanket approach. Obviously if you are in a relationship there needs to be compromise but creating things that help you to sleep better is so important. It may be a series of trial and error to find the right fit but once you have it, you will know! Go with your gut instinct.
What are your tips for getting good quality sleep?
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Isn’t it a really cool thing how we are all so different.
If I have a shower before going to bed I’m wide awake for hours
My best tip – If I’m not sleeping I tell myself that it doesn’t really matter and that if I can just quieten my mind and simply rest it can be just as restorative.
Before I know it – I’m asleep.
Yep I find sometimes in the afternoon just laying down can help me feel refreshed.
I’m with you on the showering right before bed. I feel so much more relaxed and ‘clean’ for bed that I find it much easier to fall asleep 🙂
Yep same, especially in summer.
I’m going to try covering the clock – it’s the worst thing for me when I can’t sleep. Someone mentioned that moving your bed from north/south to east/west may also have something to do with restless sleep. I think our bed is facing a different way in the new house but we can’t put it any other way so I’m going to have to deal with that and A seems to be sleeping quite fine in a bed sitting the ‘wrong’ way.
Have a great weekend !
Me
Did you find a difference with covering the clock? I hope that you are enjoying your new house, maybe it’s just the new setting with different sounds to get used to keeping you awake.
Great tips, Tegan! I will often lie in bed feeling totally stimulated and not sleepy (but knowing I need to sleep NOW if I want to avoid being exhausted tomorrow) – and I find closing my eyes and taking 10 deep, slow breaths really helps. By number 10, I am either asleep or much calmer. I also find reading helps me wind down. The more boring and dry the content, the better. 🙂
That’s a great tip. I actually find that if I read a boring book I get frustrated with it and it makes it worse because I just want to finish the book and get it over with lol
Great tips. It is truly amazing how one thing works for one person but not another. Winding down with a good book is my thing…that and having freshly shaved legs on clean sheets….weird but oh the silkiness!
ahh yep the silkiness of freshly shaved legs on clean sheets is pretty amazing.
Mine would have to be ‘get the hell away from the computer and put that cell phone away!’ I’m a shocker, I stay on the laptop til midnight, then I crawl into bed and check Facebook again on my phone, yet I wonder why I struggle with sleep!
I used to have an alarm on my phone that said ‘go the fuck to sleep and don’t check FB’ lol!
There is nothing worse than lying there watching the clock is there? I find reading helps me relax and if I’m really having trouble drifting off I try and meditate. It usually makes me fall asleep, which is not the point of meditation I know, but still. Whatever works!
I think that’s probably one of the best uses for meditation and you must be pretty good at it to drift off!
I’m with Mark, having a shower before bed makes me wake up. My tip for sleeping is have a baby lol you will be so exhausted you will be able to fall asleep anywhere (assuming they ever let you).
haha yep! I never used to be able to sleep while traveling..having Mr 4 fixed that!
All of these and more – I say turn off phone and don’t look at news etc AT ALL. Reading something boring helps, like a hard non-fiction thing that is exhausting. Shower is my trick and then straight to bed x
I have to remind myself not to do one last check of FB after I finish reading.
My go to sleep tips – Don’t go to bed angry. Only use the bed for sleep and sex. Read a good book just before sleep to stop my mind from thinking about everything else.