Tossing and turning all night is more than frustrating — it’s a danger to your mind and body. Even one missed night of sleep is enough to impair your judgment and derail your mood. When your lack of sleep is chronic, or you get your hours of slumber in but the quality is poor, your overall well being suffers.
Although the importance of sleep is well known, getting enough rest is a challenge for millions of people. From insomnia sufferers to teeth grinders, getting 6-8 hours of peaceful z’s is more like a repeat task that never gets checked off the list.
If that sounds like your evening routine, a few simple changes in your sleep hygiene habits might be enough to help you sleep better at night. Here are three ultimate tips that could change your evenings from tossing and turning torture to relaxing rest.
1. Check Your Health First
Have you been dealing with insomnia or restless sleep for more than a few weeks? Have you noticed other symptoms, such as snoring, headaches, jaw pain, earaches, or neck discomfort? Has your partner mentioned hearing the sounds of teeth grinding?
If any of these answers are yes, there could be a health condition causing your sleep disruption.
Although it’s always best to bring your symptoms to your doctor, a quick scan of your symptoms can help you make an educated guess as to what’s going on with your health. For instance, if your teeth are sensitive and you wake up with morning headaches, you’re probably grinding your teeth, a condition called bruxism. This often leads to other issues, like tongue biting.
Both biting and bruxing are painful behaviors that may wake you up at night, as explained in this article by JS Dental Lab. A night guard could be a fast and easy fix to grinding and tongue biting. But if your symptoms are more severe, like you’re having apneas (periods where you aren’t breathing), loud snoring, or popping and clicking in your jaw joint, be sure to talk to your doctor about a potential diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea or a TMJ disorder.
2. Adjust Your Sleeping Environment
If your health is on point (or you’re working on it), but your sleep isn’t, making some changes to your sleeping environment could do the trick. Take a few minutes at bedtime to look around the room. Close your eyes and listen closely. Breathe in deeply. Tuck yourself under the covers like you do before you go to sleep.
All of these senses might seem like they’re not a big deal right now. In fact, you might even be able to fall asleep through all of the environmental distractions. But your brain will notice them as you cycle through your sleep stages, and even the smallest noise, light, smell, or change in temperature can wake you up.
Try covering all the lights in your room. Don’t forget the tiny lights, like on your smoke detector! Unplug any plugs that shine when the power is on, or cover them. If that doesn’t help, consider a comfy silk blindfold. Try to eliminate any scents (even those sleepy time aromatherapy smells) and sounds, or put them on a timer so they shut off shortly after you fall asleep.
Make sure your room is slightly colder than you prefer, optimally at 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit, since your body heat rises as you sleep. These sensations could train your brain to rest without distracting it.
3. Change Your Sleep Schedule
Whether you’re asleep or not, it’s important to stay in bed with your eyes closed for 6-8 hours. This habit will teach your brain that there’s nothing it can do to force you to get up, so it may as well rest.
Set your alarm for the same time every morning, and try to go to bed about the same time each night. The human body is cyclical. It’s attuned to sunrise and sunset, but no matter what your waking schedule is, you can train your body to adapt to a pattern that works for you.
Finally, skip those naps, no matter how tired you are. If you must catch a few z’s, make them cat naps of 15-20 minutes. Longer naps will throw off that sleep cycle you’re trying to adjust to, keeping you awake all night and perpetuating the pattern of needing naps. A short nap gives you the rest you need right then without letting you get into deeper sleep, which will only mean you wake up groggy and feeling more tired.
Conclusion
Finding ways to sleep better is the goal for many of us. Thankfully, researchers have been working on this subject for centuries, and we can take advantage of their knowledge.
Check for health-related reasons for your lack of rest first. From there, create a safe, peaceful haven where your brain recognizes it can rest, and give it a consistent schedule. These three tips may take a few weeks before they show regular results, but they’re expert-recommended!