Sir Auditor UviesherheOne thing we all have in common as humans, regardless of our temperaments, preferences, and personalities, is sleep.
Even though it looks like an unproductive activity, no human can live without it. Hence, we must find ways to sleep better at night.
Have you ever slept little at night and woke up with a severe headache, but you have to head out because you are going to work?
I’m certain that it will affect your workflow for that day. You might even be found dozing off at work. That is a lack of quality sleep.
Quality sleep, however, is not only a function of the number of hours. You could sleep for a long time and wake up with a severe migraine, heavy eyes, or a tired body.
Some people even wake up with lower back pain after sleeping.
While you might have slept for long hours, not doing some of the tips we will explore in this article could cause the scenarios discussed above.
Therefore, quality sleep is not only the result of a good number of hours but also a result of the tips we will discuss shortly.
This article examines 10 tips to sleep better at night. With these tips, you’ll be able to sleep better and improve your overall well-being.
1. Keep a sleep-wake schedule:
We are creatures of habit. Our systems and lives are run by mostly automated tasks registered in our subconscious minds.
So, you must establish a sleep-wake routine to sleep better.
At first, you have to register it in your subconscious mind intentionally. That is, you have to deliberately go to sleep at a specified time and wake up at a specified time every day.
And keep up with it till it registers in your subconscious and becomes a habit. That way, you’ll naturally feel sleepy when it’s near your sleep time and wake up at your wake-up time.
I know someone who always wakes up at 5 a.m. Regardless of how tired she was before sleeping, she would wake up at that time.
Even when she was on leave, she would still wake up at that time. But she didn’t get there in one day.
I learned that she had been doing it since she was a child. So, it became a habit her body was already accustomed to.
But you have to be deliberate about it. You have to intentionally sleep at a particular time and wake up at another time.
One of the simple ways you can make this work is by setting alarms. You’ll set two alarms—one for sleeping and one for waking up. Set the alarm 30 minutes before your sleep time.
This would serve as a reminder that you should wrap up whatever you’re doing and start preparing for bed so that you can sleep at the proposed time.
Also, there is a tendency to snooze your alarm when you wake up. First, you must decide that you’ll make this work.
Second, don’t put your alarm clock or phone close to your bed. Put it where you can stand up before switching it off. That will help you resist the urge to snooze it.
In essence, having a sleep-wake routine helps you sleep better at night. This improves the quality of your sleep, giving your body the adequate rest it needs.
2. Control your exposure to light:
This is crucial for sleeping at night. There are two types of light here: natural sunlight and artificial light. I’ll explain them one after the other.
To sleep better at night, you should expose yourself to natural sunlight. Exposure to sunlight in the morning can help you sleep better at night because it resets your body’s inner sleep clock.
This inner sleep clock is called the circadian clock. According to Verywell Health, it is an internally driven 24-hour cycle that helps to set your sleep/wake cycle and is most sensitive to light at the following times:
One hour after waking up in the morning.
Two hours before bedtime (can you see the importance of having a bedtime?)
Throughout the night.
So, morning sunlight warms your body up and helps you feel agile during the day, makes you sleepy in the evening, and allows you to sleep better at night.
In essence, sunlight helps your body sense when it’s daytime and helps you sleep better at night.
The second light is artificial. In this context, I’m talking about lights from your phone, laptop, etc.
The blue-ray light emitted by these devices can affect the quality of your sleep. Though these devices have benefits, they are not your friends at night.
A lot of people have imbibed the habit of watching movies before sleeping. Some even sleep off while watching movies.
But if you are observant, you’ll realize that exposing yourself to that light affects the quality of your sleep.
You are advised to go off-screen at least 1–2 hours before bedtime, even if it’s 30 minutes.
This ensures you don’t go to bed immediately after getting off your phone or laptop.
3. Reduce long daytime naps:
One of the habits of highly effective people is taking naps during the day. Some people call it siesta, while others call it power naps.
Whichever you call it, it’s a short sleep you take during the day to destress and regain your energy.
One of the ways to battle with the pressure of the way is to take a short rest.
This habit increases productivity, especially in the afternoon. It can be from 10 to 30 minutes.
However, some people do excess by sleeping for 1 or 2 hours. This additional hour disrupts your sleep patterns.
And you now find it hard to sleep at night. Sleeping long hours in the afternoon will affect you at night. This is why some people prefer not to engage in it because they will face the consequences at night.
To avoid spending an elongated time during power naps, you can set the alarm before putting your head on your desk and dozing off. Your alarm will ring at the right time.
You should do this when you need to cool off or notice your energy depleting.
4. Get a comfortable bed, mattress, and pillow:
Where you sleep is as important as when you sleep. Everything I said earlier will have less effect if you don’t sleep in a comfortable place. Ensure you get a comfortable and standard bed, mattress, and pillow.
Your body will thank you. Imagine heading out in the morning (or even if you work from home), lying on a comfortable bed, and laying your head on a soft pillow at night.
This is very important for your sleep experience. When you sleep at the right place, you’ll experience a delightful sleep and avoid waking up with back pain like other people do. Your bed and pillow can be a lifesaver.
But you should also ensure to keep your bed just for sleep and sex. Don’t work from your bed, especially if you work from home.
There is a likelihood that you’ll eat, work, and dine on your bed. If you do that, you’ll rob yourself of that comfy feeling when you want to sleep. Ensure you don’t work on your bed.
5. Don’t eat late at night and avoid big meals at night:
To sleep better, avoid eating late. When your food doesn’t digest on time, it affects your sleep routine. The traditional time for eating dinner is 6-9 pm.
You shouldn’t be eating at 11 pm. I understand that your work routine might be different from others, but you shouldn’t eat at that time.
It will affect the quality of your sleep. Imagine eating late at night and turning and tossing all night afterward.
Furthermore, you shouldn’t eat big meals at night. Large meals take a longer time to digest. They also make you tired easily.
While eating your fill is good, knowing when you are okay is important. Don’t force yourself to eat everything. That greed for food has more disadvantages than advantages.
Eat moderate-sized food and leave food for that day. Some people’s fear is the fear of waking up at night and feeling hungry. More often than not, you won’t feel hungry at midnight.
Eating big meals at night can be likened to someone who just fasted and wants to break his fast. Many people tend to eat big meals because they haven’t eaten all day.
But we both know that you can only eat a little food after fasting. Every other food is a burden. In the same way, don’t just eat food you don’t need. If you want to sleep better at night, you should eat moderately.
6. Take your bath before sleeping:
Have you ever noticed that when you shower at night, you feel refreshed and like sleeping?
Bathing is like a sleep inducer in your body. You should add bathing to your routine to enjoy better sleep.
I want you to think about this. You went to work, feeling excited. Perceiving the fragrance of your cologne is already giving you joy.
You were beaming with energy, looked so pretty, and couldn’t wait for the day. But when you return from work, your power has been sapped already.
You still have some composure but your clothes are not as neat as the morning. You can’t even smell your body fragrance again because the perfume has worn out and your sweat is back to power.
Also, you have been exposed to the dust and air of the day. You managed to cook, eat, and watch TV for the night. Imagine going to bed with a tiresome body. You need something to refresh you.
That ‘thing’ is taking your bath. You’ll notice that you’ll be freshened up after having your bath.
7. Create a restful environment:
Creating a relaxing environment simply means making a conducive one. You can do a couple of things at this point:
Use scents: Perceiving scents like lavender, chamomile, and vanilla before sleeping helps you to sleep better.
Switch off the lights: Just like the blue ray lights from your phone affect your sleep pattern, your light affects you too. So, you should switch off the light in your room. It makes your room much more conducive to sleep.
Play background music: Just like a lullaby makes a child sleep, playing background music can create an atmosphere for sleep. Some people play cool blues before sleeping, while others play gospel songs. Know your preference and use it.
Change into your nightdress: At this stage, you should have a comfortable nightgown that will allow you to sleep like a baby.
8. Exercise for at least 20 minutes each day:
The importance of exercise can’t be overemphasized. You should exercise daily. It contributes to having a better night’s sleep.
You can do random exercises, follow a home routine, or watch exercise lessons on YouTube. I’ll recommend the second and third options.
While doing exercises are important, ensure you do them in the morning. Many highflyers do exercises in the morning.
When we examined the power of morning routines in the best morning routine blog post, we discovered that Michelle Obama starts her day at 4:30 am with an exercise.
Likewise, if you listen to podcasts often, you’ll have heard many successful entrepreneurs talk about doing exercises as part of their morning routines.
9. Bedtime relaxation technique:
It’s possible to be bogged down by many thoughts at night. Maybe you didn’t finish your tasks of the day or you have so much in front of you. You’ll surely be worried at night before sleeping.
It will be as if your brain is waiting for you to have free time so you can start worrying. But you know worry won’t solve a thing, right? I’ll also advise you to do some relaxation techniques to take your mind off them.
Some relaxation techniques include meditation, listening to music, conversing with a friend, journaling, and relaxing on your bed.
Find what works for you and apply it when this occurs.
10. Reduce your fluid intake at night:
To sleep well at night, reduce your intake of fluids, especially water. While it’s good to take water during the day, as it has immense benefits to your body, ensure you reduce the intake at night.
Waking up to urinate disrupts your sleep pattern and might affect your sleep afterward. Some people find it hard to sleep after waking up at night. By all means, reduce your intake of water.
This will reduce the likelihood of you waking up at night to pee.
But what if you wake up at night to pee? You should go back to bed. Don’t try to watch something or check something on your phone. Go back to bed and wake up at the appointed time.
Conclusion on How to Sleep Better
You should use these 10 tips to sleep better at night. As I said earlier, the quality of your sleep affects the quality of your life.
As a human, you need quality sleep to survive. While the situation can differ for everyone, I’m certain you have found some actionable tips you can apply to get better sleep tonight.
Don’t wait till tomorrow. Start today. If you got value, share this article with others so they can benefit from it.
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