Want to sleep, but can't? 21 tips to help you sleep!
Has someone asked you the question – do you have trouble falling asleep? Or staying asleep? If you’re like I was, my answer was always YES!
21 tips to help you sleep!
You’re exhausted and all you want to do is crawl into bed and fall fast asleep. You curl up in the covers, snuggle into a comfy position, feel your head hit the pillow just right…..
But instead of falling into a semi coma of great sleep, your eyes pop open. You squeeze them shut and feel how your body is wrapped in the warm covers – hmmm, that feels soooooo good! Eyes closed, yes! Then your brain is all of a sudden in overdrive! WHAT?? Just let me sleep!
Or – has someone asked you the question – do you have trouble falling asleep? Or staying asleep? If you’re like I was, my answer was always YES!
It was all of it! Not being able to fall asleep, I couldn’t stay asleep, didn’t feel rested in the morning. When I woke up my thoughts were about how soon could I crawl back into bed!
Do these resonate with you? Ever have days and nights like that? Maybe more than you care to admit? No judgment – there’s help! I came across this book by Dr. Shawn Stevenson “Sleep Smarter” and the tips he goes through helped me finally sleep better!
It helped me and it can help you! Let’s walk through 21 tips from expert Dr. Shawn Stevenson. I want to share the cliff note version with you.
Before we dive into the juicy tips to help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and actually be rested, let’s take a quick look at what happens when we don’t get enough sleep.
You are not alone, millions of people don’t get enough sleep, or don’t get enough good sleep. But the consequences are devastating! According to Dr. Stevenson some of the effects of sleep deprivation and the subsequent diseases include immune system failure, decreased libido, faster aging, storing more body fat, diabetes, cancer, obesity, depression, and memory loss.
Now we know all the things we don’t want to have happen, let’s look at 21 tips to help you get the sleep and decent rest your body needs to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Dr. Stevenson has an entire book on these 21 tips and goes into depth on each one. It’s a great book if you want to do a deep dive. Here, I’m going to give a very brief overview and if you want to talk about one that looks particularly nourishing for you, we can schedule a short call to set you up for inevitable success.
Tip #1
Know the Value of Sleep
Knowing what you don’t want – sickness and disease – helps you know what you DO want! Health, wellbeing, and a sense of peace and calm.
You will perform better, make better decisions, and have a better body when you get the sleep you require. It’s not an obstacle we need to go around. It’s a natural state your body requires to boost your hormone function: heal your muscles, tissues, and organs; protect you from diseases; and make your mind work at its optimal level.
Tip #2
Get More Sunlight During the Day
Your sleep cycle, or circadian timing system, is heavily impacted by the amount of sunlight you receive during the day.
Power tip – The body clock is most responsive to sunlight in the early morning, between 6am and 8:30am. How can you get outside for a short time for that early sunlight?
Power tip – Are you chained to your cubicle all day? Try a light box or a special lamp bulb that simulates sunlight.
Tip #3
Avoid Screens Before Bedtime
Cutting out some screen time at night is likely the number one thing you can do to improve your sleep quality immediately.
Power tip – Make it a mandate to turn off all screens at least 90 minutes before bedtime in order to allow melatonin and cortisol levels to normalize. (Pro tip – 90 minutes can sound overwhelming. Start by turning off screens 15 minutes before bed and gradually work your way up to 90 minutes. You’ll be surprised how easily and quickly you can build up your screen down time and not even miss it!)
Tip #4
Have a Caffeine Curfew
Caffeine is a powerful nervous system stimulant. That’s why we love it in the morning!
Power tip – Set an unbreakable caffeine curfew to make sure your body has time to remove the majority of it from your system before bedtime. For most people that’s generally around 2pm.
Tip #5
Be Cool
When it’s time for your body to rest, there is an automatic drop in your core body temperature to help initiate sleep. If the temperature in your environment stays too high, then it can be a bit of a physiological challenge for your body to get into the ideal state for restful sleep.
Power tip – If you have a hard time agreeing on a room temperature with your spouse, try a cooling pad on your side. You can find specially designed pads that will fit securely over one or both sides of your existing mattress.
Tip #6
Get to Bed at the Right Time
You can literally get amplified benefits of sleep by sleeping at the right hours.
It’s been shown that human beings get the most beneficial hormonal secretions and recovery by sleeping during the hours of 10pm to 2am. Stevenson calls this “money time”.
Power tip – 10pm is the recommended bed time (and that doesn’t mean getting up at 2am!)
Power tip – Work with your sleep cycles: deep sleep, non-REM, and REM sleep. (This is so interesting I’m going to do an entire post on this!)
Tip #7
Fix Your Gut to Fix Your Sleep
The food you eat can dramatically impact the quality of sleep you get.
Power tip – keep topical magnesium right by your bedside and apply it right before you hop under the covers.
Power tip – Do your best to avoid potentially gut-damaging chemicals that can hinder serotonin and melatonin production. Strive to eat organic, locally grown, unprocessed foods for the bulk of your diet.
Tip #8
Create a Sleep Sanctuary
If getting rejuvenating sleep is a high priority, than you need to take some essential actions to treat it as such. The bedroom should be for sleeping!
Power tip – Get a house plant to improve the air quality in your home.
Power tip – If you share a sleeping space with someone else, make an agreement with them to keep office work out of the bedroom.
Tip #9
Have a Big “O”
As Stevenson points out, the bedroom is used for one other activity. Having a healthy sexual relationship with your spouse can lead to better sleep. Research shows that both women and men release a cocktail of chemicals after sex, including oxytocin, serotonin, norepinephrine, vasopressin, and the pituitary hormone prolactin.
Power tip – Nutrition and exercise are also a critical part of supporting your sexual health. Be sure to include plenty of good sleep nutrients and foods in your diet every day.
Tip #10
Get It Blacked Out
It’s a well-established fact that we sleep better in a dark environment, yet many of us aren’t taking full advantage of this.
Power tip – You don’t just want to block out the light from outside: you want to eliminate the troublesome light inside your bedroom too. Alarm clocks with the white or blue digits are more disruptive than ones with red digits.
Tip #11
Train Hard
Exercise is often considered a virtual fountain of youth if used in the right way.
Power tip – Even if you do your full workout later in the day, don’t pass up getting some physical activity in the morning.
Power tip – Do something you enjoy! The best form of exercise is the exercise you’ll actually do.
Tip #12
Get Your “Friends” Out of Your Room
Cell phones, televisions, desktops, laptops, iPads, Kindles, tablets, and more. Many people have turned their bedrooms into miniature Best Buy locations.
Power tip – Use an actual alarm clock instead of your phone.
Tip #13
Lose Weight and Don’t Find It Again
One of the most overlooked problems with getting great sleep is having too much body fat on our frames.
Power tip – If you really need to have something to eat closer to bedtime, have a high-fat, low-carb snack. This will ensure that your blood sugar stays stable.
Power tip – Remember this always: Nutrient deficiency will lead to persistent overeating (which will lead to poor sleep and poor overall health).
Tip #14
Go Easy on the Bottle
Studies have proven the good news about drinking alcohol late in the evening is that you do fall asleep faster. But the bad news is that REM sleep is significantly disrupted by alcohol being in your system. You won’t be able to fall into deeper, consistent levels of REM sleep, and your brain and body won’t be able to fully rejuvenate.
Power tip – Wrap up drinks at least 3 hours before hitting the sack.
Power tip – Drink more water.
Tip #15
Play Your Position
Your sleeping position matters!
Here are just some of the things that are affected by your sleeping position:
· Bloodflow to the brain
· Stability of your spine
· Hormone production
· Joint and ligament integrity
· Oxygen supply and efficient breathing
· Muscular function and healing
· Heart function and blood pressure
· Digestion and cellular metabolism
Power tip – Make sure to communicate your sleeping needs and preferences to your spouse.
Power tip – Set your sights on getting a nontoxic, non-off-gassing mattress that has a higher level of resiliency than the industry standard.
Tip #16
Calm Your Inner Chatter
People often hop into bed and then proceed to think about the when, where, who, why, what, and how of their life… all while they’re supposed to be sleeping.
Power tip – If you decide to meditate at night to help you wind down for sleep, try doing it before you get into the bed, not while you’re in bed.
Power tip – If you’ve found that you are consistently waking up in the middle of the night, there could be a couple of potential causes: abnormal hormone cycles, low blood sugar, gastrointestinal distress, psychological stress, or sleep apnea.
Tip #17
Use Smart Supplementation
Many people look to supplements to help them sleep. Focus on the lifestyle stuff first! Do safe, smart, natural things first, then only bring the supplements in to “supplement” the good things you’re already doing.
· Chamomile
· Kava Kava
· Valerian
· 5-HTP, GABA, and L-tryptophan
Power tip – don’t mix sleep aids with alcohol.
Tip #18
Be Early to Rise
It’s not just early morning sunshine, but waking up during the early part of the day sets the template for a good night’s sleep.
Power tip – Go to bed within 30 minutes of the same time each night and wake up at the same time each day.
Power tip – If your goal is to be in bed by 11:00pm and you’re currently getting to bed at 1:00am, simply move your bedtime up by 15 minutes every couple of days until you hit the goal you really want.
Tip #19
Use Bodywork That Works
People receiving massage therapy experience improved sleep and an increase in serotonin levels. Massage is like a secret key to unlocking your sympathetic (fight/flight) nervous system and activating your parasympathetic (rest/digest) nervous system.
Power tip – Book yourself a massage this week!
Power tip – Try progressive muscle relaxation
Tip #20
Dress for the Occasion
Humans are unique in the fact that many of us get dressed up just to go to bed. Putting on your pj’s can be like a mental trigger to relax and wind down for the day.
Power tip – A 1991 Harvard study found that women who do not wear bras had half the risk of breast cancer compared to avid bra wearers. Take bedtime as an optimal opportunity to go bra free.
Tip #21
Get Grounded
Since the beginning of time, humans have had a constant interaction with the earth. Nearly everything our ancestors did required a connection with the earth. Now we rarely touch the ground, rarely touch a tree, and rarely touch the source that creates every cell in our bodies.
Power tip – Get some vitamin G – make it a regular practice to get some quality time with your bare feet on the ground.
Final Tip –
Have fun, experiment, and put these principles to work on a consistent basis! It’s not about being perfect, it’s about making progress.
What strategy are you already using? Still need help to get better sleep – and that means 8 hours of good, restful, restorative sleep (not just laying in the bed)?
Which one of these tips sounds like something you would like to try? Darkening the room? Taking an hour before bedtime WITHOUT the digital devices? Creating a sleep sanctuary?
I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, or questions. Sometimes it just takes a short conversation to open possibilities!
Good sleep, restorative sleep, healthy sleep can be yours.
If you want to learn more about some of these tips, I am doing a series in our free FaceBook group Healthy and Happy Living.