When I was little, I hated going to sleep. It felt like such a waste of time to me. I complained to my mom that the idea of a third of my life being devoted to sleep seemed sacrilege (and I’m sure I used those EXACT words).
Then I hit a time in my life in my later adolescent years where I WISHED I could sleep. Sleep evaded me like it was my worst enemy. Racing thoughts, packed agendas, and general nagging worries kept me awake for hours at night, woke me up in the middle of the night, and sometimes got me out of bed hours before I needed to be. Needless to say, it was not a fun few years.
If there was any positive to those restless few years, it was that I saw firsthand the disruptions poor sleep had on my life. My focus was rattled, my emotions were difficult to wrangle, and I felt exhausted most of the time. These negative effects motivated me to want to improve my sleeping habits.
It took some experimenting and commitment, but improve them I did! <hallelujah, celebratory jig, etc>. Here are some of the tips that worked best for me:
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Drink a cup of chamomile tea. Drinking this tea specifically is associated with an increase of glycine, a chemical that relaxes nerves and muscles and acts like a mild sedative. I’m all for a natural way to feel more relaxed!
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Meditate. I use my headspace meditation app most nights because I prefer guided meditations, but sometimes I’ll change it up and just cue up an hour of soothing sounds from any youtube meditation video.
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Exercise earlier in the day. If you exercise at night-time, you’ll ramp up your brain more and it might make it harder to sleep.
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No screen time a half hour before bed. Honestly, this one is hit and miss for me, but I find that when I’m able to actually keep my phone off for that half hour before falling asleep, I feel more rested in the morning when I wake up.
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Limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day. This one is so challenging for me but I absolutely find that when I limit my caffeine intake to one cup of coffee a day I sleep significantly better than when I have 2 (or 3… or 4…) cups.
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Invest in a good mattress. I used a tempur-pedic cloud supreme for a while, but I’ve recently switched to Casper, which is a bit firmer and I like it better. When I first went to purchase my cloud supreme a few years back, I was DISTURBED by how expensive the price point was, but with time I’ve decided that sleep is a worthwhile investment. If you can spare the change for better sleep, do it.
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Do a brain dump before going to sleep. I do this if I’m feeling anxious or have more than usual on my plate. I set a timer for 20 minutes and I jot down everything I need to get done as well as everything that’s weighing on my mind – big, little, and in between. Laying it all out on paper is so cathartic and helpful for me and it almost always results in an easier, better sleep.
Alright, team, those are my favorite tips. What do you do to fall asleep better? Any tips that weren’t on this list? Do you have difficulties with sleep in general or are you naturally just a good sleeper?
Looking forward to your thoughts,
JM
these comments are wack tho
Aaaannndd yep. 3 AM Seriously can’t sleep. But I found my new blog
She’s not going to reply to us anymore so let’s not even bother commenting anymore she was only replying before to create a community thinking we will learn to talk to each other so she can just stop responding and the conversation will still continue. Let’s prove Canvas Media wrong and not reply anymore in protest to being toyed with.
All of what I’ve read works. I sometimes use pre-recorded sounds of rain as well. If I have done a decent job of getting good food and exercise, usually it is not an issue. I’ve slept a bit sporadically since I put in a new practice booth in my place because I often will hear something that I want to work on, being a musician.
After gym days I can sleep like a baby. Tired muscles is guaranteed to make you sleep early. And hot cocoa with milk is getting me sleepy instantly. I dont have any special tricks for sleeping, I can fall asleep easily most of the times. What bothers me is the quality of the sleep. Even though I sleep good 7 hours sometimes I woke up tired afterwards, or cant even wake up. My solutions for that is not eating before sleeping, less cafeine, a good mattress and pillow. Sometimes these are not enough though, I’m still searching more solutions for… Read more »
My biggest problem is actually getting myself into bed. I don’t have a set time, it depends on whether or not I’m working. It’s tougher in the summer, with the sun still up. If I stay up past 10, I’ll usually get a second wind and won’t get sleepy till around 1am. But what I do is, no TV in bedroom, make sure it’s as dark as possible. If time permits, take a really hot bath. During the warm times, I always have a fan blowing over me.
Hi, Jennette. As always, you’re doing a great job at GM. Your posts are very good and interesting. Not long ago I had bad habits … I slept very late and woke up very late. (I liked it because at night nobody bothered me, at night I was in peace, away from all noise). But I realized that my sleep schedule became very unstable and I decided to inform myself. I read that it was not good to be at the computer, not eating strong foods and sleeping at a normal time. I was doing all that … and I… Read more »
You had me up to the point that I realized you were crazy nuts…. Only one cup of coffee a day? ONE? Uno? Singular? Gah!!! One coffee is just the prep cup to ready your body for the Divine Nirvana of the coffeepalooza nectar that will follow on a bi-hourly schedule. Sleep? Pfft. How can you sleep knowing that your coffeemaker is sitting empty and ignored by your bedside table, staring at you with that awkward silence of a discarded lover, waiting hungrily to embrace you again with it’s dark, liquidy comfort and goodness! Wait. What do you mean you… Read more »
Hey. Unfortunately I have nothing to add.
I do not have a constant problem with sleep. When the problem appears I use tea with chamomile and meditation.
P.S. I love tea with chamomile.
I don’t try to go to sleep if I’m not tired. Cooler temperatures work best for me. When I lay my head down I daydream. My mind hates having nothing to do, so I begin a story or walk through as a story a sequence of events dealing with my point of anxiety even if it is simply a repetitive listing of actions that I will take. I get to focus my mind in a way that is natural, imagination. I get to lose focus on my body which is meditative. Sometimes I drift off to sleep within minutes of… Read more »
As a child the way I got to sleep was listening to the radio. I feel that in a way that is similar to meditation. Currently I don’t drink caffeine often and have not for years. I also try to do a brain dump before sleeping, really just bring my thoughts to the front of my mind and jut down what i need to. One thing that I think helps is getting the right amount of sleep. I’m not saying you have to have a full 8 hours, I actually prefer about 7.5. This is different for everyone, but when… Read more »
I love suggestion 1) 3) and 7). Personally, I don’t have sleep problems, except for the fact that I’m always tired, like the total opposite. Actually, it’s more like, I don’t feel tired til about 2 a.m. and then I have to wake up at 7 a.m. Then I feel tired all morning, and am all awake afternoon till 2 a.m. again. So I guess I need to be re-calibrated. Number 4) is good. Now if you’re as naughty as I am, and just HAVE to be on that computer, then you can install something called a “blue light filter”… Read more »
I usually have a good dream, I have no problem sleeping, I relax reading books or watching videos of youtube, or TV, or sometimes doing some activity that occupies my mind, lately I have bought a book that you can paint mandalas that helped me To have my mind concetrada and help that this more relaxed I recommend that you try also this trick to sleep better ☺️
I work At My job. I drink Sweet Tea cold. I drink water as well. I walk On Times I head to work. I watch Dashiegames OSS (I’m a gamer guy) When I Sleep. I Sometimes Watch DBZ Best scene on YouTube. When I Wake up I make pizza.
I am a okay sleeper i just wish i could sleep a little longer than i do now.
I not a naturally a good sleeper, my good sleeping nights happen at least an hour after I go in to my bed and I had some nights where I feel asleep about 5 hours after I go into the bed. Those nights are caused being too hot, feeling hungry, my breathing problems, and/or too much stress where my mind going crazy to the point where I lose it and start doing push-ups in the middle of the night. Anyhow, I like how you try to find ways to have better sleep at night. I rather exercise early in the… Read more »
I used to be able to sleep on command; like throwing a switch. Not so anymore, especially when anticipating a stressful, busy tomorrow. I find as cold a room as possible helps a lot, also listening to a long podcast on a topic I’m interested in helps. Right now I’m working on a 5 hour jet lag, west-to-east, which means I can’t fall asleep until o-dark-thirty and sleep late…..i’m hoping something works tonite, since next week is almost upon us…
I just skip sleeping and go haunting. Works for me.
I’ve struggled with sleep my whole life. The best thing I found to help is to turn on a fan in my bedroom. That little bit of white noise helps to block out any bumps and creeks your house make at night. Also, turn the AC down and get it nice and cool so you can bundle up under your blanket. It’s so relaxing.
Cuddling up with someone always me relax and sleep better