This is a collaborative post: We all know how it feels to wake up after an awful night of tossing and turning, where you have wasted hours willing yourself to get to sleep but just not being able to drift off soundly. Trying to force yourself to get up out of bed when you know that you haven’t slept enough to get on with your day can seem impossible – just as completing a full day of work on two hours sleep will be! It’s time to sort out your sleep hygiene, and we’ve got some tips to help you kick that restless night once and for all.
Switch Off
Most of the population suffer from poor sleep because they don’t disconnect from their devices at night before sleeping and as a result, their brain is still alert and running through different thoughts. Additionally, the blue screen glare from technology suppresses your natural production of melatonin. Make sure that you disconnect from devices at least 30 minutes or longer before going to bed so that you have time to truly wind down.
Set the Mood
Make sure that you have blackout blinds or curtains so that you are in complete darkness, since light can be distracting and actually signal to your brain that it is day time – not sleep time! Keep your room at a cool temperature, with blankets available if you get too cold, and ensure that there are no outside noises that could disrupt you as you drift off to sleep. You might find that white noise helps you get to sleep, whilst other people need complete silence.
Change Your Mattress
Having a comfortable and firm mattress should be high on your priorities if you are struggling to get to sleep at night. Your spine needs to be supported as you drift off to sleep, otherwise you will suffer from an achy and painful back. In fact, your old mattress that needs to be changed every ten years could be the reason behind your tossing and turning at night. An orthopaedic mattress is a great place to start and can alleviate any aches and pains you may be experiencing during your nights sleep. Sealy are a mattress brand known for their market leading orthopaedic mattresses and have been awarded the Which? best buy top scoring mattress. Approved by the NBF (National Bed Federation), their collections are backed by orthopaedic science to provide support where you need it most. Click here to view their full range of mattresses.
Given that there are so many different mattresses available on the market, it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed when deciding what is the best mattress for you. If you aren’t sure on what mattress to choose, check out this list of mattresses where they are reviewing the best mattress UK wide to suit everyone’s different requirements.
Look After Your Body
Yes, what you eat and how active you are will have an impact on your ability to get to sleep at night. Eating sugary food and white carbohydrates that are refined food sources can actually trigger you to feel more alert, especially if you consume these foods before bed.
The more vigorous you exercise during the day, the more tired your body will feel at night. However, even as little as 10 minutes of exercising in the day can have a positive impact on your sleep. Exercising outdoors with a jog or walk will also expose you to more daylight, which helps your body to regulate your sleep and awake cycle because exposure to light releases the hormone melatonin in your body.
Whilst you don’t need to go cold turkey on your favourite order at Starbucks, do try to monitor your caffeine intake. Believe it or not, caffeine is found in other drinks and food beyond coffee, so your small coffee on top of these other products could be contributing towards your poor sleep at night.
Keep a Routine
Sticking to a regular time to go to bed and wake up means that your body eventually adjusts its internal rhythm so that it roughly knows when it is time to switch off or switch on. This is good news if you suffer from sleeping problems because your body will naturally begin to get tired around the same time each day, but it can mean you can no longer keep your eyes open for the odd late night out with your friends! Unfortunately, this also means that you should avoid sleeping in at the weekend because this can disrupt your schedule for the following week.
Try to avoid napping during the day because this can interrupt your sleeping schedule, and your body won’t feel tired at night time. If you must nap because you are exhausted, limit your nap to just a 20-minute power nap, so that you still rejuvenate for that burst of energy but it won’t cause too much interruption to your sleep at night.
Toss and turn no more by following these five ways that should hopefully get you to have a better night sleep than you have had in years. Whilst some of these tips will involve more effort than others, you should definitely try out all of these techniques before relying on the aid of sleeping pills because these are not an effective long-term solution – as any doctor or sleep specialist will tell you! Use our suggested methods to naturally improve your sleep schedule that will set you up for life.