Have you been struggling to fall asleep? Well, that was me 1 month ago. I was lying in bed awake for hours struggling to actually get to sleep. Now, I fall asleep so quickly and actually feel well rested when I wake up in the morning. Get to sleep better: here’s the perfect night routine.
The best thing I have ever heard that put things into perspective when I was struggling to sleep was:
If you were going 70mph in the car and tried to park and come to a full stop, it would be VERY abrupt and you would struggle. You need to gradually break so that you can come to a stop easily.
It’s the same with sleeping. You need to gradually wind down so that you are ready to sleep, rather than doing 1 million things at once before bed and expecting your brain to stop when it’s going 70mph.
Why do we struggle to get to sleep?
Stress:
I know for myself when I was seriously struggling to sleep, I was overly stressed.
I couldn’t go to sleep because I was thinking about EVERYTHING and NOTHING all at the same time. My mind wouldn’t rest because of how much I was overthinking.
A change in your sleep routine:
If you are trying to get to sleep at 10:30pm when you have previously been going to sleep at 12am, then maybe it’s just a case of slowly going to sleep earlier until you naturally sleep at 10:30pm.
1. Have a bath / shower
The first step to get to sleep better is having a bath or shower.
Wash the day away and get ready for the evening smelling delicious as an extra bonus.
Baths are arguably more relaxing, but sometimes you just want to be in and out of the shower quickly. It depends on how much time you have and what you prefer!
2. Get into Pj’s
You might be thinking, how does this help at all, but just think about when you get changed for the morning to start your day.
This is just like changing for the night to start you’re evening.
It signals to your brain that you are getting ready to wind down and start your night routine.
Plus, you want to be comfy and feel cosy.
My favourite pj’s at the moment:
3. Blue light glasses / red light
From 8pm, I will ALWAYS have my blue light glasses on!
They instantly make my eyes feel soothed when looking at a screen, it’s magical.
I used to get bad tension headaches and sore eyes from looking at a screen all day, so as soon as I started wearing my blue light glasses more, they went away!
Benefits of blue light glasses in my experience:
- Improves sleep. Blue light suppresses the release of melatonin (which cues the body for sleep) so wearing blue light glasses that block out the blue light can prevent that from happening.
- Prevents headaches
- prevents sore eyes
Benefits of red light at night:
- Red light stimulates the production of melatonin (sleepy hormone)
- It helps the quality of sleep
4. Cosy up watching your favourite show or reading a book
This is one of my favourite parts of my night routine.
After a long day of working hard, you deserve to let yourself fully relax and watch a show or read a book.
Every hour of the day doesn’t have to be go go go. It is also productive to rest, because if you don’t you could burnout.
Rest = key to productivity! So the next time you feel guilty for resting, remember that you are actually doing yourself a favour.
You could even put resting as part of your productive to do list, because it is essential to having a productive day!
5. Tea
Having a warm cup of tea before bed is so relaxing.
Don’t ask me if there’s any science behind this, but I believe it relaxes you.
My favourite teas:
Peppermint tea
Benefits:
- Releases headaches and pain
- It reduces stress and anxiety
- Reduce nausea
- Eases digestion
Camomile tea
Benefits:
- It can improve sleep quality
- It relaxes you
- Aids in reducing stress and anxiety
- Good for your digestion
6. Plan your day tomorrow
If you’re like me and can’t sleep unless you have a schedule and to do list prepared for tomorrow, then this is a key part of the perfect night routine to help you get to sleep.
If i don’t do this, I will be thinking about everything that I need to do tomorrow.
Why does doing this help you get to sleep better?
Making a schedule and to do list for the next day, means that I can sleep peacefully knowing that I have a plan for tomorrow written out so I don’t have to try and remember it all in my head.
It’s the last step in feeling like I can truly switch off and leave everything that I have to do until tomorrow.
7. Read or journal before going to sleep
The key here is just not going on your phone and mindlessly scrolling on TikTok.
Because tiktok is short videos that we scroll past at such a fast pace, your brain is probably going wild.
Whereas reading or journaling can help your brain to calm / slow down.
Getting everything out when journaling could help reduce stress and anxiety, making you feel more calm and relaxed, helping you sleep.
Similarly, reading before bed can take your mind off things and let you focus on the storyline of your book. If you get anxious easily, maybe don’t read a horror book before bed lol.
I’d choose to read a fiction book rather than a non fiction / educational book that is going to activate my brain.
Similar blog posts related to night routines: (http://bigsisterera.com/the-night-routine-for-a-successful-morning/)
Thank you for reading <3
I hope this post was helpful in helping you perfect your night routine to get to sleep better.
I know what it’s like to struggle to fall asleep, lie awake for hours in bed, trust me.
Doing these things have helped me so much in falling asleep quickly after my head hits the pillow.
Let me know if you have any other tips in helping you sleep, make sure to leave them in the comments below!
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