Top Tips for Better Sleep

Tips for Better Sleep

Maintaining a balanced sleep pattern will decrease your emotional vulnerability.

 1. Stick to a schedule and don’t sleep late on weekends. If you sleep late on Saturday and Sunday morning, you will disrupt your sleep pattern. Instead, go to bed and get up at about the same time every day.

2. Establish a bedtime routine. This might include shutting off screens (TV, computer, cell phone), changing into comfy PJs, sipping herbal tea, lowering bright lights and reducing noise, and reading.

3. Don’t eat or drink a lot before bed. Eat a light dinner at least 2 hours before sleeping. If you drink too many liquids before bed, you’ll wake up repeatedly for trips to the bathroom. Watch out for spicy foods, which may cause heartburn and interfere with sleep.

4. Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Both are stimulants and can keep you awake. Caffeine should be avoided for 8 hours before your desired bedtime.

5. Exercise. If you’re trying to sleep better, the best time to exercise is in the morning or afternoon. A program of regular physical activity enhances the quality of your sleep.

6. Keep your room cool. Turn the temperature in the room down, as this mimics the natural drop in your body’s temperature during sleep. Use an air conditioner or a fan to keep the room cool. If you get cold, add more layers. If you are hot, remove some layers.

7. Sleep primarily at night. Daytime naps steal hours from your nighttime sleep. Limit daytime sleep to less than 1 hour, no later than 3:00 P.M.

8. Keep it dark, quiet, and NO SCREENS. Use shades, blinds, and turn off lights. Silence helps you sleep better. Turn off the radio and TV. Use earplugs. Use a fan, a white noise machine, or some other source of constant, soothing, background noise to mask sounds you can’t control. No laptops, iPads, phones, or screens for at least 1 hour before bedtime.

9. Use your bed only for sleep. Make your bed comfortable and appealing. Use only for sleep—not for studying or watching TV. Go to bed when you feel tired and turn out the lights. If you don’t fall asleep in 30 minutes, get up and do something else relaxing like reading books or magazines—NO SCREENS! Go back to bed when you are tired. Don’t stress out! This will make it harder to fall asleep.

10. Soak and sack out. Taking a hot shower or bath before bed helps relax tense muscles.

11. Don’t rely on sleeping pills. If they are prescribed to you, use them only under a doctor’s close supervision. Make sure the pills won’t interact with other medications!

12. Challenge your negative thoughts. The whole process of going to sleep is complicated by the fact that your mind develops a whole range of negative thoughts about it. These thoughts then prevent you from sleeping. If you question their validity, they will have less power to cause you anxiety. Here are some typical negative thoughts of people with insomnia, together with what a reasonable response to each one might look like:

Negative thought: “I’ve got to fall asleep right now, or I won’t be able to function tomorrow.”

Rational response: “Actually, there’s no urgency. You’ve done without sleep before. You’ll be a little tired, which is uncomfortable and inconvenient, but hardly the end of the world.”

Negative thought: “It isn’t normal to have this kind of insomnia. It means there’s something wrong with me.”

Rational response: “Unfortunately, insomnia is quite common. Almost everyone experiences it sometimes. No one will think less of you for having it.”

Negative thought: “I could will myself to go to sleep if I tried hard enough.”

Rational response: “Trying to force yourself to sleep never works. It increases anxiety, which only fuels your insomnia. It’s better to let go of the attempt, and give in to not sleeping. Then you can relax a little.”

Negative thought: “I need to remember all the things I’m lying awake thinking about.”

Rational response: “If something is worth remembering, get out of bed, write it down, and go back to bed. There’s plenty of opportunity to plan things tomorrow.”

Negative thought: “I never get enough sleep.”

Rational response: “This is probably true for most people, but it’s simply uncomfortable and inconvenient. It’s not the end of the world.”