There are too many mornings when we wake up from our alarms and are still tired, wanting to sleep more. Getting a good night’s sleep can be harder than it seems; here are some easy techniques to help your sleep be more refreshing!
1. Stretch before going to bed. Stretching can relax the muscles and help you sleep better. An exercise to relieve tension in your back and legs is to lie down on the floor facing up and bring your knee to your chest.
2. Try to fall asleep and wake up at the same time every day. In college, this can be very hard to do. But if you’re constantly feeling drowsy, getting on a regular sleep cycle will help! You can take a melatonin supplement 30 minutes before you want to fall asleep. Taking melatonin helps to regulate our sleep cycles and helps us fall asleep faster.
3. Don’t eat or drink before bed. Stomach discomfort from digesting could keep you up at night. Caffeine and alcohol can also damage the quality of sleep you have at night, so avoid caffeine after lunch.
4. Workout during the day! Physical activity during the daytime helps your body fall into a deep sleep faster.
5. Think through your thoughts before getting into bed. Write down important notes you don’t want to forget in the morning, and even keep a notebook beside your bed. Relax your mind and forget the stress of the day.
6. Listen to white noise while you sleep. White noise is created by fans, air conditioners, and sound machines and helps to block out miscellaneous sounds that can wake you up in the night.
7. Don’t hit snooze! Trying to fall back asleep after snoozing your alarm will just make you drowsier when your alarm goes off again. When your alarm goes off, get out of bed to help your body wake itself up. Expose yourself to bright light to signal your brain to wake up.