The lights are out, you are under your blankets, cozy in bed, but you cannot seem to fall asleep. This has often been the case for me, and no matter what I do, whether I try listening to sleep podcasts, tossing and turning, drinking hot tea, etc., nothing brings sleep to my body nor relaxation to my mind. And before I know it, suddenly the alarm is going off in the morning. Counting down the time until the alarm blares just stresses me out and reminds me of how tired I will be in the morning. While most people experience at least one occasional sleepless night, there are some things you can do to help prevent multiple.
You should start by making your bed to create a better sleep environment. Making your bed can help you dedicate your bed to sleep. I know I am not the best at this. From studying to eating, my bed has seen it all. However, if your mind and body are in the habit of thinking of your bed as a space for homework or television, it will be harder for you to find sleep.
Before bed, you should also spend some time winding down. An hour before your (hopefully) regular bedtime, you should start to wind down. Get rid of the blue lights from technology, take a warm shower and go through your nightly skincare routine to help your mind and body associate these activities with “bedtime.” If you cannot turn off the technology before bed, you can put a blue light filter on your phone or try glasses that help filter out the light. Blue light screens are meant to keep users more alert, which is the opposite of what you want at bedtime.
Once you get into bed, it can help your mind and body to relax if you read or journal before turning out the lights. Too many things can be racing through your mind at the end of the night, so reading can allow you to just clear your head and focus on what is happening in the book instead. Writing your thoughts down can allow you to put them all out there and then close the journal so you don’t have to think about them while you are trying to fall asleep.
When you turn out the lights, it can be helpful to regulate your breathing to relax. There are apps, Spotify podcasts and YouTube channels that can help you with this. Once your breathing is normalized, your body will naturally stay calm and relax. Focusing on your breathing can also help you focus on something other than whatever thoughts are still lingering in your mind, and changing that focus can help you fall asleep too.
Everyone struggles sometimes with falling asleep. However, hopefully by regulating your nighttime routine and making sure your mind and your body are calm before bedtime you can get some shut eye.