For many people, sleep can be elusive at times. We all lead hectic lifestyles and so many things on our minds, our thoughts, and worries can stop us from getting a good night’s sleep. Fear not, however, as all is not lost. In this post, we will look at some tips and tricks to help you get a great night of restful sleep.
Get yourself into a regular routine
Your body is a big lover of habit. Getting up and going to bed at the same time every day as well as trying to eat at similar times every day is the best way to tell your body to go to sleep when you want it to. If your brain is used to winding down at the same time every night, it will be much easier to do it.
Make sure your bed is up to scratch
If your mattress is lumpy and unsupportive, your bed squeaks and groans every time you move your toe and your pillow leaves you with a sore neck and shoulders every morning, well, you are not going to get the sleep that your body and your mind needs. It is important to make sure that you have the best quality bed and furniture for your bedroom that your budget allows. The best mattress is one that is relatively firm and offers plenty of support – but everyone prefers something different, so try before you buy. Aim to buy a new mattress every eight years or so, as this is when the average one begins to sag and offer less support.
Tidy up
Cluttered room, cluttered mind. Clear room, clear mind. If you can see piles of laundry or paperwork or other clutter in your room, it is going to be much less relaxing than if you had it all clear – or at the very least, hidden out of sight! Get your Marie Kondo on and get rid of anything you no longer need or use, or that does not spark joy in your life anymore. With the rest of it, find smart but cute storage solutions – boxes, bins, and baskets are your friends here. It is much nicer to look at than piles of stuff lying about.
Make sure your room is dark
Science tells us that the best environment for sleep is a dark (and quiet!) room. With so many of us living in inner-city areas with bright streetlights outside and traffic zooming past all day and all night, that can be as elusive as the sleep that we need and crave. Invest in some good quality lined curtains or blackout blinds to block out as much of the light as possible. You could also think about wearing a sleep mask. If you can, earplugs are a great way to reduce the sounds you can hear, allowing for a great night of sleep.
There are always going to be internal factors affecting our sleep – worries and anxieties, for example, but by taking control over as many of the external factors as possible, we increase our chances of quality sleep.