“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”
Irish Proverb
“The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more.”
Wilson Mizener
I have to say that, overall, I sleep well.
Things weren’t always like that though. I often had trouble falling asleep and would twist and turn on the bed for a long time several times a week. I sometimes slept pretty badly and if I woke up in the middle of the night then it usually took me quite some time to go back to sleep.
Over the many nights and many years I have found a handful of habits that have helped me to minimize these problems and to get a good night’s rest pretty much every time.
These are 7 habits that help me to sleep better. I hope you will share yours too in the comments.
- Regular exercise. It will release inner tensions and worries. And I sleep better when not only my mind is tired but my body too.
- Keep it cool. It may at first feel comfortable to go to bed in a warm bedroom. But I have over the years found that I tend to have fewer negative or scary dreams and sleep more calmly in a cool bedroom.
- Keep the earplugs nearby. These are a life-saver if you, like me, tend to be woken up easily by noise. I use them at home if our cats are too noisy very early in the morning. I use them while traveling if I have to share a room with a snorer or if there is loud construction work being done outside my hotel at sunrise.
- No personal development reading two hours before bed. Or any other non-fiction reading that I know will give me many new ideas or get my thoughts spinning. Reading fiction or watching a TV-show tends to work a lot better for me to wind down.
I sometimes also do a bit of surfing on my smart phone. I keep the brightness of the phone low – sort of like a lightly lit page of a book – to not start feeling more awake again. - No brightly lit TV or computer in the bedroom. By separating my life like this I make a mental separation between the places where I work or watch the TV. And the place where I sleep.
This limit and association it creates in my mind makes it easier to relax and to get to into the “now-it’s time-to-sleep” mode.
Instead of feeling distracted or being tempted to work just a little bit more. - Don’t try to force going to sleep. If I’m not sleepy then I stay on the couch and keep reading to relax a bit more. I have tried forcing myself to go to sleep more times than I can remember. And it has never worked. Instead it just leads to tossing around in bed for an hour or more.
So winding down for 20 extra minutes on the couch is actually a smarter choice to help me to go to sleep faster and get more sleep. - Focus on breathing to fall asleep or to get back to sleep. If you have wound down but still have worries in your mind or thoughts spinning around as you go to bed then my most recent habit may help you out.
If I have this issue or I wake up in the middle of the night and thoughts start bouncing around in my head then I focus on just my breathing for a couple of minutes. Just on the air going in and out of my nose. Nothing more.
This clear 100% focus on my breathing makes any thoughts or worries disappear and both my body and mind calms down again. And I go to sleep very quickly.
What is your best tip for sleeping better?
Henrik Edberg is the creator of the Positivity Blog and has written weekly articles here since 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Gothenburg and has been featured on Lifehacker, HuffPost and Paulo Coelho’s blog.
Comments on this entry are closed.
It takes me a 1/2 hour to fall a sleep. If if take me longer I go to backroom to read. I do read self-help and business books I do not think it effect’s my sleep.
Hello,Mr.Henrick.I received your E-mail on thee tips for Getting restful sleep etc.I will read over everything.And also all orther coarses.I am pretty busy right now.I appreciate you,thinking about me as a student.I will be going to thee mountains soon.So that will be much needed.Spring is not spring here yet.It is only in thee high 50’s,during thee day.It should be alot warmer here in Cranberry twp,pa! thanks for thinking about a prospective student. E-mail soon,Lori,you all have a nice weekend.
If I get the 2 am “eyes wide open” I get up and write down whatever has come to mind. It is usually a problem and a solution will bubble up with it, perspective is generally better. In the morning it is usually very easy to action the small things and begin solving the big things. A sense of relief will follow and then restful.
“No personal development reading two hours before bed.”
Haha I second that, Henrik. Too many plans and ideas can definitely make it hard to fall asleep.
Another tip I discovered was on wearing amber-coloured sunglasses if you were to use devices that have screens. Wear the glasses 1-2 hours before bed and it can help to prevent the block most of the blue light from our devices. The reason is because melatonin is suppressed if we expose our eyes to blue light before sleep.
I take exception with #4.~ the opposite is true for me; reading ‘self-help’ type books before I fall asleep actually induces alpha waves in my brain and seduces me into my dreams in a positive state. Definitely no tube, or ‘surfing’ a ‘smart’ gadget before I retire- dumb idea. :-)
Very helpful. Thanks and regards
Thanks Henrick
Getting enough sleep can be a problem. One thing I often do if I wake during the night and can’t go back to sleep is to meditate for 20 minutes. This stops the thoughts from bouncing around in my head and I usually go back to sleep fairly well. Another thing that I occasionally do is make a cup of tea and sit outside and enjoy the moon and stars. This option takes a bit longer than the meditation but it can be very nice.
Have a good sleep everyone
Cheers
Ian
Wow!!!!,these r very helping.actually I use some of them already.dear sir,ur blogs r very practical and nice to read.i wit for them eagerly.thank u
It is good advice to solve so many psychological problems starting from stress.
Ear plugs are ESSENTIAL for me! The slightest little noise, like the click of the pull chain on the fan will keep up zeroed in and crazy! Even if I don’t have them in, they are within arms reach in case the upstairs neighbors decide it’s time to party at 3 a.m. They are also critical for me to have when camping. As much as I love the outdoors crickets are my waking nightmare!
Hi-
I wanted to say that your tips for sleeping better are awesome, but unfortunately might only work well for those people who don’t have medical issues. Since you’re a man, you don’t have the wonderful issue of hormones. Take myself for instance. I’ll be 53 this year and I’m still having my monthly cycles. Who would have thought? I’m old enough to be a grandmother and still able to produce children myself. (Heaven forbid) I’ve also got chronic pain issues which will sometimes wake me and then I can’t get back to sleep. I’ve taken prescription sleep-aids in the past and currently only use Unisom, which is Benadryl in tablet form. It helps me fall asleep after an hour or so, but once I wake-in my case for a potty break-I’m up. This morning, as in the past two mornings, I’m bright eyed at 3am. Go me! Problem is, after several hours I will run out of steam because I’ve only slept a total of 4 hours and that’s just not enough. So, while all your tips are superb, I’m afraid they won’t be able to help everyone. Believe me, I’ve tried them all.
These are helpful tips I should try some of them. I can share my what helps me to fall to sleep.
1. I read books that gives great imagination, watching art on YouTube or other sites, drawings on sketch pad to get thoughts and working out.
2. Any places where theirs noise I blackout and image living on the beach listening to the waves or the wind blowing. Or most of the time I can handle the noise Lol.
3. I really like your last tips about any thoughts that triggers negative thoughts. I love listening to relaxing music. I love hearing beautiful harmony. No singing but its more listening to the instruments the sounds is peaceful.
I totally love this topic I will definitely try some new ones you had mention in this subject.
Sincerely,
Eileen.
I had problems with sleeping because of bad bed and really warm bedroom. Once I decided to open a window and keep it open all night long. And it really works, my sleep was very good and I do it everynight.
Sometimes helps me sleeping in other room or on a couch.
Try it too, if you have any problem with sleeping:)
Deep-breathing works fine for me and sometimes i just hug my pillow tightly..