Everyone wants to know how they can get better sleep. If you have started your day at the office with you’re a third cup of coffee the moment you sat at your desk, just to energise you and keep you from the temptation of putting your head on your desk and having a little snooze, you are probably in need of these tips that have the power to give you that great quality sleep that will transform your life.
Not getting enough sleep is certainly no joke although we shrug it off and even laugh about being tired. A lack of quality sleep can make the difference between a productive life, full of good mood days, and days full of grumpiness and yawns. A lack of sleeping well has also been linked to weight gain and increased possibilities of getting heart disease or having a stroke. So read this list, it could improve your sleep tonight.
To live your life to the fullest you need to be getting regular, great rest.
The 20 tips for improving your sleep
- For the love of lavender
It is not a smell that everyone is wild about but the aromatherapy qualities of lavender are undeniable. The lavender scent can send you into a dreamy snooze, melting away the day’s drama. You might be wondering how to get your hands on this soothing scent but all you have to do is go to your everyday local store and you will find everything from body washes to body creams that are scented with lavender and can be used for aromatherapy purposes. Try it for yourself the next time you are having trouble relaxing.
- Bring in the magnesium
I was once advised of the numerous benefits of using magnesium. Not only does this mineral keep migraine headaches at bay, and give you unbelievable mental energy, but when taken at night it can also give you that wonderful quality sleep you need. Magnesium can be found in foods or in supplements and they can be easily taken before going to bed. I speak from experience, this works like a charm!
- Clear your mind and find your inner peace
Meditation is scoffed at by some but there are fewer ways to utterly calm your mind than by meditating. They say that once you pass that 3-minute mark of a clear mind, empty of all thought, you are well on your way to proper meditation. Your mind can be the biggest culprit in keeping you up at night, conquer your mind with peace and you will find that relaxation and sleep will soon follow. A quick look online will give you plenty of meditation techniques to try out.
Meditation is one way to silence your mind.
- Soak yourself to a better sleep
This is possibly one of the oldest sleeping tips and you have probably heard of this one before, take a warm bath before bed. It has nothing to do with keeping clean but rather it has to do with raising your body temperature a little bit and then letting it fall slightly before you go to bed. This fluctuation of temperature will lift you off to dreamland in no time. And you can always add a bit of lavender oil or bath salt to your warm water to give you that extra bit of sleep therapy.
- No phone, no screen
We love our smartphones. How wonderful is it to be able to connect with the world from wherever you are. With apps that allow us to put books on our phones, we can now even read in bed before we go sleep. But please, if you value your sleep, don’t do this. Your eyes and brain are very sensitive to the light that is emitted from your smartphone screen, your tablet screen and your computer screen. The moment you stare at these devices before bed, your brain is waking up fully again instead of winding down. Ban your screens from the bed. Go old school and buy a book instead…which brings us to the next point.
- Read a book
An actual book, full of that lovely book smell. Nothing works as well as picking up a book and reading before lights out. It is a wonderful indication to your mind that now it is relaxation time and you should be winding down and getting ready for a night of sleep.
Reading a book before bed can calm your mind.
- Write it and burn it
Or throw it away, burning can be messy and dangerous. Sometimes it is difficult to get things out of your mind before you go to sleep at night and you spend the next 8 hours with a bundle of stressed out, unpleasant thoughts plaguing your mind and making your relaxation impossible. How can you clear your mind of problems you cannot fix right now? A paper and pen are going to be the mind clearing answer. Write down what is on your mind, write down everything. Don’t worry about what it looks like or your spelling, just write it all out. Once you have done that, rip it into little pieces, physically destroy this representation of your unhappiness or, if you have a safe place, burn it. This tip can be useful beyond helping you to sleep well at night.
- Lower your bedroom temperature
It sounds completely contradictory but sometimes sleeping in a colder bedroom can do wonders for your sleep. Open your window a bit or if it is summer, take off all the covers. This lower temperature can help you sleep. You can even take off your pyjamas and sleep in the nude. Not only is this going to help you to remain cooled off but it is also, for some people at least, more comfortable.
- Give yoga before bed a go
Seen those complicated yoga poses on Instagram lately? After reading this heading, you might be thinking, “how the heck am I supposed to contort my body like that?! I don’t think the body should bend that way!” But before you write this tip off of your list, there are a few stretching poses that you will be able to achieve even if you are an amateur.
Yoga can help you to recharge
- Try some muscle relaxation techniques
Starting with your toes and working your way up your entire body, clench each muscle then slowly relax it. This is one way to help your body completely relax without having to take medication or meditate. This way of calming your senses is one of the easiest tips to do on this list.
- Burn those muscles
A day that doesn’t end with some type of work out might leave you feeling very stress out. Getting physical with a run, a brisk walk or some other type of exercising is one way to rid your body of tension and relax you completely. Exercising after a tiring day might feel like a drag or you might feel as though you have no energy, but you have to try this technique for yourself to see the benefits.
- Remove the noise
Living on a busy street can mean car noise all night. If you are living in an area where noise is a constant annoyance you should consider investing in a white noise machine. They are said to work wonders in keeping those most distracting noises away.
- Enjoy a cup of tea for a change
On the market these days you will find tea that doubles as a sleep aid. If you are someone who enjoys indulging in a night time drink, swap your coffee for a cup of tea instead. Tea’s created to assist you in sleeping are a viable option to improve your shut-eye.
Tea can soothe and calm the soul
While we are on the topic, it is probably best to avoid coffee
14. Steer clear of coffee
Coffee is your enemy at night, for most of us at least. While there are those amongst us who are able to get great sleep after enjoying a nice cup of coffee, the majority of the population is left wide-eyed after a caffeinated beverage. The effects of caffeine can stay with you for around 6 hours after you have that drink, keep that in mind the next time you enjoy your late afternoon cuppa.
- Now is the time to give up the cigarette
Smoking is a guilty pleasure and as a smoker, you have already heard more than enough about the bad effects of the cigarette. So I’ll make this a quick tip, giving up smoking can give you better sleep.
- Repeat after me…
Rest. Calm. Sleep. Relax. Cosy. No, you haven’t lost your mind. In a study that was published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, it was found that reading words that related to sleep and relaxation can greatly aid the quality of sleep that a person can experience.
- Settle into a routine
One of the greatest things about becoming an adult is that you can go to bed at any time you like. The downside to this freedom is that many of us ended up messing up our sleep routines the moment we grew up. Going to bed at all hours is actually not at all good for your sleep. Try to settle back into a routine to get your patterns back on track. Going to bed at a set time each night will mean waking up at a usual hour each morning. In order for this to work, you will have to stick to it on weekends as well.
- Have a comfortable environment
A comfortable environment can aid sleep
This doesn’t just mean having a calming colour scheme, it means investing in a good mattress, good pillows and comfortable sheets and duvet sets. Find some heavy, dark curtains that block out all of the light and try to get rid of as much noise as possible (see tip 12). Our bodies are unique and the body can have specific needs when it comes to getting comfortable. This often means having the right amount of support for your body, something which can only be provided by the right mattress. These days, mattresses come in all sorts of designs, with a variety of fillers and foams to keep your body comfortable. And if you are sharing your bed with a partner, make sure that your bed is suitable for both of your sleeping needs.
- It is okay to make up for lost sleep
There is no guarantee that you will get the same amount of sleep each and every night. But that is not the end of the world. You can spend that extra hour in bed if it means you get a few extra, re-energising winks. Some say that napping isn’t good for keeping you on track with your sleeping patterns, but making up for lost sleep is not going to be a massive disruption as long as you keep it in moderation and use it to only catch up on the sleep that you have lost.
- Get enough sunlight, get enough fresh air
Being cooped up in your office all day is already an unpleasant reality to live with, but it is not just disrupting your daytime concentration. Not getting enough fresh air and sunlight on your skin can lead to problems at night when you are trying to fall asleep. If you are working in an office without windows, fight off fatigue and aid your sleep by going outside occasionally and absorbing the sun.
Sunlight on your skin during the day is important for your sleep
Fresh air and time outdoors can only benefit you come bed time
Your sleep health is important. It will infiltrate and affect every part of your day to day life and have some unwanted consequences on how you approach your world. No one wants to feel tired and research tells us time and again about the importance of getting at least 7 hours of sleep as adults. Did you know that no matter what you do to boost your energy, without the right amount of sleep it is going to be incredibly difficult to rid yourself of exhaustion unless you top up your sleep?
Making sure you have the right mattress is what our experts do best. At the Mattress Warehouse, our team can provide you with invaluable advice on how to select the right mattress. With these tips and the right mattress, your bad nights of sleep will be a thing of the past.
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