Sleep is extremely valuable. About ⅓ of our life is spent sleeping, crazy huh?
It’s vital to combat many illnesses and increase our brain function, yet many of us don’t get enough. Even the CDC statistic reports that 1 in 3 adults don’t sleep enough. What?! Can you imagine if these people had adequate resources to know how to sleep better?
Well, you will now so please put the steps below into action!
Side note: I find it ironic that I planned to write this article, then bought a puppy. Mostly because owning a puppy = m a j o r lack of sleep. That being said, I still make sure to prioritize my sleep as much as possible- even during times of change. I’ll explain what I do to keep sane at the end so keep on reading my friends.
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First, let’s get into WHY we need sleep.
#1 Reduces Illnesses and Disease
Obtaining adequate sleep can increase immunity and decrease inflammatory proteins which increases immune response. So, with getting a good night’s rest, you may be less likely to catch a cold or get the flu.
Studies also show that lack of sleep can cause an increased risk of diabetes. Specifically, this study shows that less than 5 hours of sleep with insomnia can cause a significant increase in developing type two diabetes.
So if those two illnesses don’t frighten you then think about this: a night of inadequate sleep can impair your natural killer cells- which are involved in fighting cancer! This one post reports that women who sleep shorter amounts of time may develop more aggressive breast cancers… and there are many more that support claims on cancer risk.
#2 Regulates Hormones
Lack of sleep can cause a decrease in leptin (the satiety or fullness hormone). Overnight your body is also working to control metabolism and stress. Cortisol (stress) levels are increased in individuals who lack proper amounts of sleep.
#3 Increases Learning and Memory
Attention to detail and focusing is impaired in a sleep deprived person causing them to learn inefficiently. Sleep also plays a role in consolidation of memory, which is involved in learning new information. Ultimately, we need sleep, not staying up all night to study for the next exam (yes, I’m guilty of this in the past too- and no it did not do me any good).
These are just a few top reasons to get more sleep. It is involved in SO much more within our body to help it perform at its finest.
Unfortunately, in our society we no longer believe it’s really that important as we pull “all nighters” in college, stay up late watching T.V., and gulp down extra coffee instead of getting those much needed z z z’s.
So, what are we going to do now that we know how important sleep is?
#1 Establish a Nightly Routine
Find a routine that works for you and do it consistently. This will allow your body to relax and calm down, prepping it for a perfect night’s rest.
Try a few different things out + then stick to it:
- Read a chapter in a novel before bed
- Do a 15 minute yoga session
- Practice 10-15 minutes of meditation (try the Headspace App)
- Write in a journal (try gratitude journaling)
- Take a calming bath with epsom salts
- Diffuse lavender essential oil or spray lavender onto your pillow
- Roll or drop stress away oil on your wrists and inhale it while doing breathing techniques (my ultimate go-to when I can’t sleep)
- Breathing exercise: Inhale for 3-5 seconds, hold, exhale for 3-5 seconds, repeat until you feel relaxed and can easily fall asleep
- Track your sleep on Fitbit or use the phone settings to sleep and wake at the same time every day (being consistent with your routine will help your body and mind know when it’s time for bed and allows for restful sleep)
- Set your thermostat to 68 degrees F: it’s much more difficult for you to sleep well when it’s too hot in the bedroom
- Try magnesium spray: it regulates melatonin which guides sleep-wake cycles in your body
- Don’t use your bedroom for work or watching T.V.
- Try drinking memory foam pillow – I love mine!
#2 Reduce Light and Distractions
Turn off all lights and remove light sources. Keep in mind that blue light disrupts the circadian rhythm and impairs melatonin – which are important in regulating sleep. Blue light is found on your phone, T.V., tablet, and computer.
You can do this by:
- Investing in black out curtains
- Wearing eye masks: these are my favorite- seriously I’ve bought three already because I travel with them and always seem to lose a mask somewhere…
- Ear plugs: my other must have travel essential
- Play ocean sounds or other calming nature sounds with headphones (search on amazon music or download online- another one of my go-to’s when traveling)
- Downloading Flux app to your phone or laptop which will decrease blue light during the evening hours that you set
- Wear blue light filter glasses if you can’t resist watching TV before bed
- Cover any additional light from alarm clocks or modems with flashing lights (try covering with black tape)
- Place your phone on Do Not Disturb, that way only your emergency contacts can reach you while you’re asleep
#3 Morning and Daytime
Even what you do during the daytime can impact how well you’ll sleep. Here are a few more ideas to take into consideration to have that energy all day long!
- Buy a sunrise simulating alarm or use a bird chirping alarm that starts quiet then slowly becomes louder- this will make it easier to wake up and feel refreshed in the morning instead of jarred from a sudden loud sound (personally I love waking up to my birds chirping!)
- Fitbits and other apps can also determine the best time for you to wake up within your sleep cycle (usually within a 30 minute range)
- What you eat and drink matters! Reduce caffeine before noon and eat high protein/high fat before bed – stay away from sugar and high carbohydrate foods as this will cause your blood sugar to spike and then drop overnight which may wake you up (if i’m hungry before bed I like to have almond butter – sometimes I mix a tablespoon of almond butter, a splash of almond milk, and this Ascent Casein Whey protein together to form a healthy + chocolatey late night snack)
- Understand that alcohol suppresses REM (or deep) sleep early in the night – if you have a lot of issues with sleep then I highly recommend cutting back on those nightly cocktails or the glass of wine with dinner
- Get adequate sunlight! Go for a walk, enjoy the outdoors. This study shows that participants with vitamin D deficiency had a significantly increased risk of sleep disorders
- Also try exercising in the morning rather than early afternoon, as exercising is known to have stimulating effects
Need help turning those “ugh, I wish I was that motivated to make this happen” thoughts into “wow I’m so glad I did this!”?
Then download my free PDF to track your habits and subscribe to my newsletter. Making small lifestyle changes will take a little extra energy in the beginning, but after doing it consistently for a few months you will feel so much better and it will feel as natural as brushing your teeth or taking shower.
So, what do I do to get good sleep?
This is a lot of information, but take these tips and apply it to your life. Do I do all of these? No, but I definitely do a handful of them on the regular.
For example, I always make sure to have a dark, quiet place to sleep because I KNOW I’m a light sleeper. I even cover the little lights that show up on our fan with a t-shirt! (I’m not messing around haha).
I also use lavender and stress away essential oils if I’m having a hard time falling asleep and might even do some breathing exercises, listen to nature sounds, or meditate. I wake up to birds chirping on my phone that slowly become louder and I try my best to fall asleep at the same time each night.
When I travel I A L W A Y S wear an eye mask and earplugs. Without those two things I’d be miserable – it’s a necessity. Even when I stay over at friend’s houses I bring my eye mask and earplugs. I’m not compromising a good night’s rest and buying a $10 eye mask is soooo worth it.
I have the blue light blocking app on my phone and tablet, don’t drink caffeine past the afternoon, eat mindfully, and try not to have too much alcohol before bed- it always keeps me up late!
Stress can easily creep up in my life which causes my mind to rush before bed, but I’ve learned how to reduce that as soon as it comes on because I’m more self aware now. Lately life has thrown us a lot of curveballs and my sleep has suffered, but I’ve learned that if I don’t get good sleep, then I wake up feeling like shit. Honestly, I feel hungover without actually drinking and that’s a terrible feeling without all the fun (felt like this almost every time I worked a night shift…. so glad that’s over).
With a new puppy and the stress of buying a new home we hardly get a whole night of sleep. (Did you know puppy’s have to go potty every hour during the day and apparently 3am in the middle of your night’s sleep??)
Neither did I…. but we’ve made the best of it.
We take her out right before bed and run her around as much as possible, then Brian wakes up at 4am (slightly earlier for work) which is perfect because around that time she has to go out again. Last night she slept from 9:30pm-4am. We were amazed.
It’s all about finding your own routine and what works for Y O U. Try out a couple of the tips above and let me know how it worked. Sometimes it takes a few different things to figure out what you can commit to long term.
Make sleep your number one priority.
If you need help making this a HABIT (that way it can be ingrained and no longer a chore, but a newly formed habit – just like brushing your teeth) then check out my post on How to Habit Track. Add in what you’d like to commit to like “Reading 1 chapter before bed each night” or, “go to bed at 10:00pm each night” and follow along with the details on my post to increase your sleep and help you to become a more energetic and happier person!
Happy Sleeps 🙂
A registered nurse, certified health coach, and wellness enthusiast.