Sleep is one of the most important actions that we take every day of our lives. A good night’s rest can have loads of health benefits but can make you feel better as well. However, many people, like myself, still struggle to get a full night’s sleep. Today, I will be sharing some tips and tricks that help me get better sleep.
1. Stretch before Bed
Stretching, from my experience, helps the body relax your muscles. While stretching, you are also taking time to calm your mind. Allowing your mind to settle down from the stress and activity from the day. Make sure you take calming breathes while stretching to fully take advantage of this time. It can take up some extra time before your crawl into bed, but it can be so worth it!
“Drink Water.” “Stay hydrated!” All these sayings are things we have heard before, and there are lots of reasons as to why. Drinking water, much like sleep, can help improve both your physical and mental health. From my experience, drinking some water before bed helps me stay asleep longer and prevents me from having to get out of bed in the middle of the night. Try not to drink too much water before bed. You may find the opposite happening to account for bathroom breaks if you do.
3. Set the Room to a Comfortable Temperature
At some point, we have all experienced nights where the room was too cold or too hot to sleep in comfortably. This is going to affect how well you sleep. Keeping lots of blankets and/or a fan on stand-by to help combat uncomfortable room temperature. That said, still, try sleeping in different temperature rooms. Sometimes, slight temperature variations can help you sleep better. I sleep best in a relatively cold room while underneath some nice, warm blankets.
4. Snuggling
Who does not love snuggling? Whether it is a pillow, stuffed animal, a friend, or a partner snuggling can help some people feel safer and more comfortable resulting in a better night’s rest. This tip might not work for everyone though. Especially our friends out there who exude a lot of body heat. Snuggling might not be for everyone. For those who enjoy it though, it can be beneficial in getting a full night’s rest.
Anxiety is difficult to combat at the best of times. It can keep people, myself included, up all night if not checked. One way that I have found to limit the lack of sleep caused by anxiety is to minimize the number of things that can cause you anxiety. Finish any assignment you may have due soon, do a couple of chores that you were falling behind on, make that phone call you have been meaning to make, etc. It is important to remember that sometimes you can do so much before you need to rest. Tell yourself how much more efficient you will be once you get some sleep and understand that sometimes you must wait to get things done. This trick can minimize some people’s anxiety and can help you get that well-deserved rest.
I hope this list helps you find ways to get better sleep. It is all stemmed from my personal experience and may not work for everyone. However, it may help some people or at the very least can get you started on your journey to better sleep.
Good Night!