Sleeping well has a significant impact on mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Indeed, itās so evident that youād likely know it even if there wasn’t a wealth of research to support that claim. Everyone feels better when theyāve got a solid nightās sleep under their belts.
Alas, that doesnāt always happen. There are times when, despite our best wishes, staying and falling asleep seems to be an impossible task.
While the occasional restless night is inevitable, if itās something that happens frequently, then itās time to take action. In this post, weāll run through a few tried-and-tested strategies for increasing the quality of your sleep.
Create a Sleep-Friendly Bedroom
Perhaps your pre-bedtime activities are impeding your ability to fall asleep.Some people are lucky enough that they can sleep anywhere, but most people need to be in a calm and sleep-friendly environment. Youād think that your bedroom would automatically be sleep-friendly, since, well, thatās where your bed is. However, thatās not automatically the case. If your bedroom is cluttered, noisy, or otherwise stressful, then youāll find it more difficult to sleep through the night. Work on making your bedroom a calm, zen-esque space, and youāll find it easier to reach the land of Nod.
Wind Down
Are you perplexed by your inability to drift off to sleep once you’re in bed? Perhaps your pre-bedtime activities are impeding your ability to fall asleep. Many people spend their evenings staring at their smartphones, and this habit keeps their brains in a state of alertness that can make it difficult to fall asleep. In the hour before getting into bed, look at putting away your phone and doing relaxing activities, such as reading, meditating, or light yoga.Ā
Comfortable Sleeping
Your bedroom may be the most relaxing place on Earth, but if you’re not comfortable in bed, you’ll have a harder time falling asleep. Investing in a quality mattress and a cotton night dress can make all the difference, allowing your body to sink into a deep level of relaxation that makes it much easier to drift away. Putting together a truly relaxing sleeping environment will increase the chances that youāll sleep through the night, too, just be aware that you might be so comfortable that getting up in the morning is a challenge!
What to Do If You Wake Up in the Night
No one sleeps through the night every night. So, what should you do if you wake up at 3 am? First of all, avoid looking at your phone. It can be tempting, but itāll only wake you up even more. Instead, make any adjustments you need to get yourself comfortable and try the sleeping breathing hack, which is as follows:
- Breathe in for four seconds.
- Hold for seven seconds.
- Exhale for eight seconds.
Do that for a minute, and you should be ready to fall asleep again. Start counting backwards from 100 in your mind, and you should be asleep by the time you reach zero.
