Sleep is the best medicine…is one of the things that my mom always told me growing up. Though knowing that she had a valid point, it took me many years to realize how extremely important it was. Not only as a cure for fever, colds, headaches, hangovers etc but also as a preventive measure for much of the stuff you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy.
Allowing your body to restore to balance, your hormones to act according to their natural cycle, your cells to rebuild themselves and your brain to subconsciously process whatever it needs to, is of extreme importance if you’re serious about your current and future mental and physical health.
‘If you cut down on sleep to work more – I’m sorry – you’re totally off track. It’s not the number of hours you put down, it’s the quality of work during those hours that matters – and it’s well proven that you perform better and become more efficient and effective with a sound sleeping pattern.’
I’m not a perfect “sleeper” but I’m working on improving it. Here I’ll share some easily implementable recommendations for how to improve the quality of your sleep.
Decide a bed time
6.5-8.5 hours before your morning alarm will sound. Depending on if your individual need is 6, 7 or 8 hours per night – allow yourself 30 min of falling asleep.
Lights out for better melatonin (sleep hormone) production
Start dimming the lights already a couple of hours before going to bed and then go into full darkness once you crawl in. If you go for black out curtains, my recommendation is to leave a gap open to let the natural sunlight in to help waking you up in the morning. I use a loosely tied eye mask to go pitch dark when falling asleep and I make sure it’s loose enough to fall off during the night. Right now my favorite eye mask is a silk one filled with dried lavender.
Invest in finding a good pillow for your particular needs
Figure out what works best for you and invest time (and if needed also money) in finding a good one. Remember that if you share a bed with a partner – there’s nothing saying that you need to have the same kind of pillow. Find yours and save up for it if needed.
Cool down your bedroom.
If you, like I do, live in a warm country and have to use AC- put it on before going to bed and cool down the room in plenty of time before getting in there. You don’t want to sleep in AC air – but you want to fall asleep before it gets warm again. If you can, have a winter duvet and a summer duvet to further adjust the temperature. We use IKEA for both seasons, and for really hot nights a duvet cover will do, so it doesn’t have to be expensive.
Scents help
Lavender and jasmine have a calming effect on your nervous system. Either keep plants in your bedroom or buy an oil burner, like you might have seen at a spa, where you put a tea candle underneath a bowl with a mix of water and essential oil. I prefer that more than incense sticks or scented candles. But whatever works for you!
Keep your bedroom clean and de-cluttered
If you want to go a step further have a look into Feng Shui. At a minimum don’t keep stuff in there that reminds you of work or other commitments.
Avoid screen time (if you’re more disciplined than I am)
Most people know by now that the blue light from your device screens can highly disrupt your sleep patterns if used just before going to bed. Also, the input you’re getting from scrolling down your feed might be deeply disturbing, keeping you awake and leaving your mind whirling. A way of managing that (I imagine) is to buy a classic alarm clock for your nightstand and leave your mobile charging outside of the bedroom. I’m terribly bad at this, in fact I’m writing this on my mobile in bed.
Don’t eat right before going to bed.
Digestion will keep you awake or disturb your sleep.
Use those extra 30 min to have a quickie
Either with your preferred one (or yourself). Many people find that an orgasm helps them relax and releases both psychological and physical tensions, thanks to the release of the hormone oxytocin.
Listen to a relaxing podcast or calming audio book
But not one too interesting or engaging it will keep you awake. Find someone with a calming voice and a topic that keeps your mind from spinning but that still doesn’t capture your imagination too much. (although I do know this clashes with the keep your mobile outside advice!)
Use Headspace or a similar app
Ideally with a specific sleep program and follow a mindfulness/meditative exercise to help you to fall asleep. Or simply count sheep – the same logic applies.