Natural sound sleep is something we all need, but are you one who easily gets to sleep, then you wake up at some point and cannot get back to sleep?
Or do you struggle to fall asleep, staying awake late into the night?
We take sleep for granted, assuming it will just happen… until it doesn’t.
The frustration of feeling tired more often than energetic is a growing problem that requires attention beyond medication.
If you are ready to improve your sleep then consider implementing the following five steps.
- Create a dark sleeping space.
Add room darkening curtains and remove any visible light from clocks or electronics.
You might also consider adding smart technology with LEDs for your bedside lamp that transition from energizing white light in the morning to calming, subdued orange light before bedtime.
2. Establish a bedtime routine.
At least 30 minutes or more before sleeping, turn off all electronic devices: computer, TV, e-readers (Kindle, Nook or other), cell phone or any other device you use to “fall asleep” – the blue light emitted from each of these is actually stimulating brain waves to keep active.
Even if you fall asleep, your brain activity does not support a sound sleep, only a restless one. Turn it all off; anything truly important will be there tomorrow when you have more energy to be more efficient.
Optimal hydration is required for your body to help you sleep soundly!
Fatigue, headache, and food cravings are often a signal of dehydration, so drink more water. However, the water your body requires needs to be ingested during the activity of your day. Stop drinking any water or other beverage at least 1 hour before sleeping.
Do not keep a glass of water available to drink during the night. When you drink anything before bed or during the night you give your body permission to wake you up to use the bathroom.
Create a water intake habit that is met during waking hours. Aim to drink a minimum of 60+ ounces of water daily, or up to half your total body weight in ounces.
4. Eat more vegetables.
Nutrition is a primary tool for getting your body to sleep more soundly.
Increased sugar or caffeine during the day will deplete nutritional reserves needed for digestive activity and sound sleep. Your body needs you to eat more vegetables and leafy greens rich in fiber and antioxidants.
These critical nutrients support your physical body to optimize your body’s metabolism. All the colors of vegetables support digestive processes that reduce inflammation, improve nutrient absorption, and deliver more hours of restful sleep, greater energy during your waking hours.
Eat a minimum of 4 fist-sized servings of vegetables daily.
5. Practice gratitude, mindfulness.
The purpose of all of these previous suggestions is to teach your body to let go of accumulated stress.
Consider breathing techniques or practice mindfulness options as a way to train your mind to embrace a still point for helping you to relax muscles and quiet unrelenting energy related to thinking or worrying.
There are true emergencies (or small children) that need attention regardless of sleep, but many of the stressors we reflect on are chronic issues, accumulating tension. They will be there tomorrow – let yourself sleep tonight.
Pray, breathe deep and slow, create thoughts of gratitude, sleep.
Commit to do these steps for 6 weeks by making just one change each week.
Chart the hours you sleep each night and create a total at the end of each week. Observe how your body responds to slow and steady changes.
The key to these steps is to add each one as a daily habit.
Transforming restless or interrupted sleep into sound sleep requires you to re frame existing habits. The profound benefit is a more energized, happy life.
If sleep is still elusive after 6 weeks of making changes, you may need the support of a nutritionist to evaluate any nutritional deficiency, dig a little deeper into your unique physiology or add supplemental support to reduce other factors known to interfere with sleep.
I am here to support you. Feel free to ask questions or make comments.
Unfortunately, I am working on my PC until the last minute I fall asleep… I can feel that it’s disturbing my sleep and that it’s bad for me but it’s the only time I have to work on my business.
I meditate daily and that has helped me a lot to feel more rested during the day.
Sometimes, I’ve found that playing some natural sounds (like rain or forest wind) on my speakers while sleeping helps me sleep deeper.
What’s your take on this?
Thanks for your very helpful comments Harry. I personally tend to have the opposite result when trying to work on my website late at night. My problem is trying to stay awake !
I really like your idea of playing relaxing natural sounds also. That probably explains why sleeping in a tent or trailer in a forest area by a babbling brook can be so refreshing. It is not hard to find those kinds of CDs in stores.
Roland
I have always suffered from insomnia. It has got a lot better now that I left my stressful job but still some days are harder than the others. Thanks for sharing the tips. I am currently practice this one habit of writing what is going on with my day on my diary. I always do that with a glass of chamomile tea, the warm feeling help me sleep better. Also releasing my anger on a piece of paper helps with my mood and my marriage.
Diet plays an important part as well. If I eat too much junk I either cannot sleep or have a heartburn. I also try to eat 3 hours before I go to bed to make sure that I digest all the food and have a good sleep. I live to compliment people as well, this make them have a good day and I also have a good day, hence less stress 🙂
You make some absolutely excellent points Nuttanee ! Blessings on you ! Thank you so much for sharing.
Roland
Roland, thanks for this post. Every one of the tips do work. (I have tried them all.)
My problem is that, mostly, I am apparently one of those people who don’t seem to need quite the same amount of sleep that all the experts keep telling us we need. If I get too much sleep, I actually walk around like a loggy-headed space cadet.
It’s gotten weirder as I get older. Now I wake up after about five hours of sleep and then start drooping at around 2 in the afternoon. A half-hour power nap fixes me right up…or else I get past the doldrums and regain energy after that.
I try not to schedule things that need a lot of headwork around then. And I tell everybody I am brain-dead and go home if it gets too bad. (I know. I’m lucky I can do that.) . I make up for it since I do start my day at around 3 a.m. and I do a lot of work at home.
I think I’ve pretty much decided to let my body do what it wants. After years of trying to live up to the experts’ expectations and not changing my body-rhythms one bit, it kind of is what it is. I guess.
— Netta
I don’t know what age you are Netta, but I so enjoyed your comments, perhaps because at 82 I can so identify with much of what you said !
You make a very good point about doing what we can to support our bodies, but in the end also accepting that we are all different and sometimes it is easier just to accept that fact and work with it. If that works for us, then why not?
Thanks for your great comments !
Roland
Most times when I chased a task and couldn’t finish up before sleep comes unconsciously, I don’t usually have a very deep sleep, rather a sleep with various disturbed dreams that can disturb brain and deprive me of unhealthy sleep. Because of this reason, I now make sure I set my schedule very well in order not to work close to deadlines, for me to finish up my task on time. With this I am able to have a healthy sound sleep. Your guides are also important things to consider. I’ll check my self and adopt this tips. I’ll be on a check to track the outcome it might bring. I found this post very useful. Thanks.
Thank you Stella for your gracious comments and for sharing your own experiences. They will be meaningful to many people. Feel free to share your ongoing experiences on this blog at any time.
Roland