How to get a good night’s sleep
It’s 10:30 pm. You finally finished another great repeat of Golden Girls and it is time to go to sleep. You turn out the lights. And you just stare up at the wall for 5 minutes wondering when you are going to fall asleep. Then, you wonder what is happening on Instagram or YouTube. You check the clock once more and it is 2 am. Oh snap! How did that happen? How did this happen again? If this sounds familiar, then this post is just for you. And it is definitely for me.
I really wanted to find a way to get a better night’s sleep so I put on my Sherlock meets Elle Woods hat to do some research. So, I stumbled upon an article written by the Mayo Clinic called “Sleep tips: 6 steps to a better sleep”. 6 steps? Hmmm…that doesn’t sound so bad. Let’s give it a go.
What do you mean I have to plan to sleep?
For step 1, they recommended “stick to a sleep schedule” to help “reinforce your body’s sleep-wake cycle” (Mayo Clinic, 2020). A schedule for water, gardening, relaxing and sleep. I’m beginning to see a pattern here. It may take some time, but my body will start to fall into a routine. In your routine, include something you can look forward to, like your favorite pajamas, tea or an unwind playlist.
2. Uh oh! Not my night-time snacks! 😮
Now, step two is a hard one for me because I love a night-time snack. Their recommendation for step 2 is to “pay attention to what you eat and drink” (Mayo Clinic, 2020). Chocolate, oh chocolate! Why must you have caffeine? To resist the urge to night-time snack, I make tea an hour before bedtime to help lull me to sleep. Teas like chamomile & lavender help me unwind instead of grabbing that piece of chocolate. Or I have my night-time snack one hour before bedtime. By the way, check if your tea has caffeine because I learned that the hard way. 😂
3. How to shutdown that “insta” brain
In a world where phones are always by our sides, it feels almost impossible to disconnect from them. But if we don’t disconnect, we will not get rest. A night after night that can take a troll on our health. The “prolonged use of light-emitting screens” can make our brains think that it is still day and to continue to operate (Mayo Clinic, 2020). My goal for next month is to place my phone away 20-30 minutes before bed. Also, placing my phone across the room so that it is not within arms reach. Reasoning? I will be too sleepy and lazy to get up and get the phone. 😂
4. Naps are good and bad?
Alright, we are mid-way through. Yea! Step 4 reminds us about how to manage naps because even though naps are helpful if they are too long they “can interfere with nighttime sleep” (Mayo Clinic, 2020). We can set our naps at a limit of 30 minutes so that we don’t interrupt our sleep schedule. Because we have all either had tried to make up for sleep loss or had too little sleep and we all end up being, you guessed it, cranky.
5. We gotta get moving!
This fifth recommendation connects back to one of our self-care exercises by getting our body moving. I am trying to include 2 to 3 walks a week into my schedule. If we fall into a routine of physical activity, it can “promote [a] better sleep” (Mayo Clinic, 2020). Our bodies will come to expect that 10 minute stretch, that yoga session or that walk to use our muscles and will need a night’s rest to recover.
6. Write all down and breathe.
And last but certainly not least, their final recommendation is to “manage worries” (Mayo Clinic, 2020). Now I hear you, this is much harder than it sounds. But I did like one of the suggestions to “jot down what’s on your mind” into a piece of paper or journal. You can write it down and close the journal or fold the piece of paper. Then, you can return to it once you had a good night’s rest. Also, you can try breathing exercises before bed to help your body calm down and release stress.
This won’t be easy, but please know that you are not alone. There will be a lot of trial and error, but you will find a night-time routine that fits you. And one morning you will wake up and finally have that “I got the greatest sleep in a while”. And that is one of the best feelings.
If you have any other tips on how to get a better night’s rest, please feel free to let me know in the comments below
I hope you have a wonderful week filled with good night’s rest! 🤗
Reference
Mayo Clinic Staff. “6 Steps to Better Sleep” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 17 Apr. 2020, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/sleep/art-20048379.