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I have a bad habit of staying up late. Here are some things that help me get to bed at a decent hour and prepare for restful sleep.
- Exercise (a natural sleep remedy) – when I workout regularly I sleep soundly and through the night.
- Take a shower/bath before bed – this helps me relax and feel rejuvenated.
- Drink tea- I like Sleepy Time Tea or any herbal tea with chamomile. After a long day at work a warm cup of tea is just what I need.
- Melatonin – I take one 30 minutes before going to bed. It seems to help me fall asleep quickly and have uninterrupted sleep.
- Read a book- turning off electronic devices 30 minutes before bed helps me decompress and allows my body to recognize that it’s time for sleep.
- Eliminate late night snacking – I try to stop eating heavy food 2 hours before bed. If I go to bed on a full stomach I am restless throughout the night and have wild dreams.
- Be on a schedule – go to bed and get up at the same time every day. This is a good way to train your body to recognize when it’s time for sleep and wake up naturally before the alarm.
What are your nighttime rituals?
I really need to take heed of this as my late nights are getting later and every morning I promise myself to get to bed a heck of alot earlier but it never happens 🙁 Bed, hot chocolate and a book sounds like a start to me! hehe Karen x
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Lol Karen! So glad I’m not the only one with this habit. Hot chocolate sounds divine. Good luck with getting to sleep earlier. Let me know if you come up with other helpful tips.
These are very good rituals for a good night sleep.I am already doing some of them and will incorporate the ones I am not doing slowly. Looking forward to many great nights of sleep.
My schedule varies so much day-to-day and I feel the affect of it in my sleep/wake cycle. One thing that has helped me is understanding my personal sleep architecture and experimenting with when I complete a REM cycle. I can’t always chose my bedtime tbut I have been able to understand that getting 7 hours of sleep is better than 8 for my personal clock. I like the term of sleep architecture in that it is something that you should spend time and effort building and maintaining.
That’s interesting, I sometimes find that 7 hours of sleep is better then 8 for me also. Sleep is something that I am constantly striving to improve. I do much better now then I did a few years back.