You spend a third of your life asleep so why not make it worth it
By Savvvy Team
November 16, 2021
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com
Invest in Your Rest
Investing in yourself your sleep will help improve your overall life and considering you spend more than 1/3 of your life sleeping you may put more time in this area of your life just like your work in the awakening world.
Your sleep depends on it!
In this article, we will discuss
Some of the best ways to invest in your sleep before and after you get to bed
Techniques to get you to bed sooner
Learn about your sleep cycle so get yourself into a better habit
Products that will aid in your sleeping cycle for a restful night sleep
1. Resist Snooze
Play music to help get you up or put your alarm in an area in the room where you have to get up and turn it off.
Resist putting the snooze button, we all know what happens after you do this. Circle of life is a great alarm to wake up feeling refreshed.
2. Massage
If you deal with insomnia try these pressure points for sleep.
Massage therapy may help reduce your anxiety and relieve stress so you can fall asleep. Using a massage gun to decrease your stress levels and relieve tension in your body may help you sleep better.
3. Keep Your Bedroom Dark
Your body's internal clock regulates your sleep cycle. An absence of light is critical in sending a signal to you "sleep-clock" that it is time to sleep. Turn your lights off, or invest in blackout window curtains.
This also includes any technology you are using at night will affect your sleep. We will mention this later on in the list (47).
4. Wear Socks
This one is not easy for those of us who find it annoying to fuzzy warm slipper socks.
But trust me, if you allow yourself to do this it will helps your sleep as this increases blood flow to this area and then heat loss through the skin which may lower core body temperature.
5. Work on your Internal Alarm Clock
Get into a stable circadian rhythm with your sleep cycle. Keep yourself active throughout the day this may help you adjust you sleeping cycle and makes you easier to fall asleep and wake up.
Ways to fix your internal clock can be:
adjust your lighting and temperature in your room
consider your working hours
napping throughout the day
relaxation
using aromatherapy
reduce eating before bed
6. Keep it cool / Regulate Room Temperature
This can make a significant impact on your sleep. It is recommend to set your thermostat to 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit for a more comfortable sleep.
7. Do not go to bed angry
We tend to bring the troubles from the day into the bedroom. Going to bed angry will affect your sleep and you may wake up feeling groggy and upset then taking it to the next day.
Try meditation or white noise to get your mind off your troubles so you can allow your body to recharge.
8. Exercise regularly – but not too late
Exercising improves your sleep and can help alleviate daytime sleepiness to help you sleep better at night. This may also help reduce any medication needed for sleep.
9. Avoid heavy meals before bed
Not only is this not healthy as you will not be allowing your body to properly digest your food while you are laying down.
Eating heavy at night may delay your ability to fall asleep. Your metabolism slows down as your body gets ready to rest for the night.
10. Cuddle
According to sleep.org Cuddling facilitates the release of oxytocin, which is a hormone that suppresses your cortisol levels.
Cortisol is a stress hormone that triggers your fight-or-flight response.
People with a healthy sleep-wake cycle have lower cortisol levels in the evening, allowing them to enjoy a more restful sleep.
11. Have more sex
According to sleepfoundation.org After an orgasm, the body releases hormones, like oxytocin and prolactin, that can induce pleasant and relaxing feelings.
Sex also reduces levels of the hormone cortisol, which is associated with stress.
12. Quit smoking
Everyone is different when it comes to how their body reacts when quitting smoking. You can be more sleepy when quitting but this is only temporary.
Eventually your body will get back to normal and you may see that you are able to sleep longer and fall asleep more easily.
13. Keep sleep log
This will help you calculate your sleeping time and patterns.
By doing this, you will unconsciously be able to adjust your sleeping cycles as needed and see room for improvements to get you a better night sleep.
You can also use this as a dream journal.
14. Increase bright light exposure during the day
As darkness helps your internal clock get ready for bed, the same is true with how brightness can wake you up and keeps you internal clock regulated throughout the day.
This is why it helps to put your blinds up in the morning to help you get up in the morning. Keeping yourself in a dark room will leave you sleeping longer and missing your alarm.
15. Reduce your overall sleep need
Reducing your need to sleep more or even a lack of sleep may have the same effect.
It can lead to health problems let alone an unhealthy sleeping cycle.
Chronic sleep deprivation can even effect your appearance!
You sleep close to 6 years or 1/3 of your life here on earth.
Why not learn more about your sleep cycle so you can learn how your brain works to recuperate and compare the way you sleep.
One gadget that may help identify your stages in sleep pattern by using a Fitbit.
17. Euphoric music in the AM
According to sleepfoundation.org music triggers the release of dopamine. A hormone released during pleasurable activities, like eating, exercise, and sex.
This release can boost good feelings at bedtime and address pain, another common cause of sleep issues
18. Consistent schedule
Keeping a consistent sleep schedule—even on weekends—maintains your internal body clock.
Even if real life stands in the way of achieving the perfect sleep routine, making just a few small changes can improve your sleep dramatically.
It may help you fall asleep and wake up more easily.
19. Strike Your Pose or Say a Prayer
One of the most important aspects of good sleep cycle is reducing stress levels, and modern brain research supports the use of the practice of prayer beneficial.
20. Avoid caffeine at night
Caffeine is a natural psychoactive substance. According to sleepfoundation.org inside the brain, caffeine blocks adenosine receptors.
Adenosine is a sleep-promoting chemical.
Not avoiding caffeine before bed will interfere with your sleeping cycle.
21. Power down after 1 hour before bed
Powering down before bed means giving your body and mind an hour before bedtime to relax. Take this time to journal or meditate.
22. Drink coffee before your quick catnap (20 mins before)
This is a nap that is no longer than 30 mins. Any longer and you may wake up feeling groggy.
Know your body and how you would react to a cat nap. If you are deciding to take a cat nap drinking a cup of coffee before 20. min in your nap will make sure you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go!
23. Review Your Medication
Review your medications that you take to make sure this is not causing any issue with your sleeping patters. Consult your doctor before making any decisions.
24. Play a brain game
Stimulate your brain with some brain games. Give yourself time to provide positive stimulation to you mind.
There are many apps you can use instead of aimlessly scrolling on your social media. Get you mental activity on. Check this app out today!
25. Consider Melatonin
Consider taking melatonin. I recommend getting this from your foods first and as naturally as possible.
If you are looking for a way to help you sleep at night consider melatonin which aids in helping you sleep easier.
26. Be Bored in Bed
Bored in bed allows you to have your mind not stay preoccupied thus allowing you to keep you up.
Sometimes begin bored is not a bad thing before you head to bed. You do not need to always need to be doing something.
27. Don’t drink alcohol
Alcohol before bed may keep you from having a restful night sleep.
Many other will say that it is an aid considering the sedative effects to help you sleep.
However, experience insomnia symptoms and feel excessively sleepy the following day can be experience with drinking alcohol before bed.
28. Explore Polyphasic Sleep
According to healthline.com Polyphasic sleep refers to sleeping in more than two segments per day.
Following a polyphasic sleep pattern doesn't necessarily reduce the total number of hours you sleep, but many people adopt polyphasic sleep as a way to reduce their overall sleep time and maximize their wakeful hours
29. Avoid reading before bed
A top sleep hygiene tip to avoid blue light from screens is to unplug an hour before bedtime.
Or, if reading on your phone is crucial to one's nighttime routine, it's recommended to avoid blue light for at least 30 minutes before dozing off.
The next one is opposite. Find your own balance.
30. Read before bed
This one is opposite from 29. According to dreams.co.uk Reading also allows your muscles to relax and slows down your breathing, leaving you feeling calmer. The Sleep Council say 39% of people who are in the habit of reading before they go to sleep, sleep very well. Find your balance.
31. Deep breathing
This type of breathing is useful in that it helps to slow down the various functions in your body that can keep you tense and anxious.
Allowing yourself to deep breathe will slow your heart rate and make it easier to drift off to sleep. Here are some useful breathing techniques to help you get started.
32. Aromatherapy
Multiple essential oils have been scientifically demonstrated to promote sleep directly, or by reducing anxiety.
Research demonstrates that because smell affects sleep, incorporating certain essential oils into your bedtime routine may help people sleep better.
33. Hot bath
A growing body of research suggests that taking a hot shower or bath before bed can improve sleep.
Those who bathe or shower one to two hours before bedtime also fall asleep faster.
The researchers theorize that warm water stimulates blood flow to the hands and feet, which allows body heat to escape more quickly.
34. Visualize
Visualization can be a powerful technique to help you unwind, relieve stress, and even fall asleep.
Instead of focusing on your anxious, fearful images, visualization expands your ability to focus on calming and restful images.
35. Write it out
The study found journaling reduced bedtime worry and stress, increased sleep time, and improved sleep quality.
To try the technique used in the study, set aside 15 minutes each night for writing about a recent positive experience.
Write about not only what happened, but also how you felt at the time
36. Sun in the AM
According to verywellhealth.com Getting morning sunlight can help you sleep better at night. Body temperature, because sunlight can warm you up.
Morning production of the stress hormone cortisol. Increases in the level of the hormone serotonin, which is important to sleep.
37. Pillow
Pillows help to keep your spine properly aligned while you sleep.
Misalignment caused by inadequate head and neck support can lead to headaches and tension in the shoulders, back and neck.
Your pillow should provide good support in your preferred sleeping position.
38. Don’t overthink
Overthinking at night is largely down to the brain processing what has happened to us during the day.
'We don't have the time and space during the day to process what's happened and to evaluate and make sense of it. Sometimes the only time we get to do that is when we're in bed,' says Bastine
Here are what the experts are saying that will help you to alleviate you from overthinking before bed.
39. Kitchen Curfew
First things first, make sure your kitchen is cleaned before you go to bed at night. Ideally, you want to stop eating 2 hours before bed.
You may also experience indigestion or broken sleep if you eat or drink too close to bedtime.
Your metabolism also slows as your body prepares for sleep and you don't typically need additional calories.
40. Snack Smart
No nutrition advice is universal. You may experience indigestion or broken sleep if you eat or drink too close to bedtime.
Your metabolism also slows as your body prepares for sleep and you don't typically need additional calories so choose your snack carefully.
41. Pre Bedtime meditation
42. TV and Phone Off
(Hopefully you are not reading this while you are suppose to be sleeping if so put this away and go to sleep).
Electronic back-lit devices like cell phones, tablets, readers, and computers emit short-wavelength enriched light, also known as blue light.
Fluorescent and LED lights also emit blue light, which has been shown to reduce or delay the natural production of melatonin in the evening and decrease feelings of sleepiness.
Blue light can also reduce the amount of time you spend in slow-wave and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, two stages of the sleep cycle that are vital for cognitive functioning.
43. The Military Method
Relax the muscles in your face, including tongue, jaw, and the muscles around the eyes.
Drop your shoulders as far down as they'll go, followed by your upper and lower arm, one side at a time. Breathe out, relaxing your chest, followed by your legs, starting from the thighs and working down.
44.The 4-7-8 Breathing Method
Close your lips and inhale through your nose for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven.
Exhale completely through your mouth making a whoosh sound for a count of eight.
45. Lavender Scent
Lavender, one of the more popular essential oils, is most commonly used for relaxation and sleep.
When used before bed, studies have shown that lavender oil can not only help you fall asleep but also improve the overall quality of rest.
Begin diffusing lavender oil an hour or so before turning in for the night.
46. Use bedroom only to sleep and get it on
When you work from your bed, your brain starts to associate your bedroom with work.
That means that when you try to fall asleep at night, your brain won't cooperate.
Because it now considers the bed a workplace, your brain will go into work mode — and there goes your sleep.
47. Maintain Positive Attitude
48. Nap between 1 pm – 3 pm (30 min max)
This is an optimal time to take naps according to research.
49.Meditating App
50. Explore the 28 hour sleeping concept
Try using a white noise machine to help you sleep better.
Whether you like the sound of rain or thunder this will be sure to set the mood in your room.
52. Color Your Walls Tranquil
53.Keep your Cortisol in check
54.Stress Less
55.90 minute rule
56.Quality mattress
57.Cooling and heating mattress pad
58.Resolve any conflict
59.Leave all your troubles
60. CBD
61.Address Sleep Apnea
62. Warm Milk
63. Drink Kava
64. Press play (listen to music)
65. Fix your gut
66. Fix your metabolism
67. Set Alarms throughout the night
68. Learn about lucid dreaming
69. Eat a bananas
70. Block out noise
71. Use blue blocking apps
72. Decided whether your pets are allowed in bed
73. Sleep Mask
74. List problems and how you plan to solve them
75. Pineapple before sleeping pills
76. Hide your clock
77.Sleep before 11 PM
78. Progressively relax all your muscles
79. Massage your supraorbital nerve
80. Try acupuncture
81. Cocoa
82. Drink Tea - Chamomile
83. Practice Mindfulness
84. It’s okay to have a “first and “second” sleep
85. Work out how much sleep you actually need every night
86. Eating Habits
87. Try ASMR
88. Sleep with a pillow between your leg
89. Lower fluid intake
90. Don’t work in bed
91. Get comfy go to sleep prepared for the next day
92. Sleep at the same time every night (or at least try)
93. Fan yourself to sleep
94. Coconut Charcoal to get your circadian rhythm going
95. Hypnotherapy
96. Skip LED lighting
97. Candles
98. Be Grateful
99. Open a window
Conclusion
Which of these ways do you invest in your sleep?
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