I love the moment that I pull back my comforter and jump into my nice, warm bed. It’s literally all I think about during the day, but I’m also obsessed with sleep. So many people have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. It’s hard to learn to turn your mind off, especially as you’re getting ready for a new day and you have nothing to do but sit down and relax at night. So, let’s talk about some hacks for falling asleep and staying asleep!
Put Your Phone Up
I am the worst at this. I’ll watch TikTok videos until 2am if I don’t stop myself. I recently saw a YouTuber say that she set restrictions on her phone so she can’t open up certain apps after a certain hour at night. You can use “Downtime” in your iPhone settings (Settings – Screen Time – Downtime) and have only apps you choose and phone calls available. This is a great idea if you have the self control to do that!
No Blue Light
While you might love to watch a movie before or read online before you go to bed, blue light screens are actually terrible for your sleep. I use blue light blocking glasses from about 6pm on. This will let you keep watching your favorite show before bed without worrying about being able to fall asleep later!
Get Some Sleep Products!
If you love listening to music but your SO doesn’t, look into these sleep headphones to get you to sleep without worrying about your airpods falling out. You can also use this Dream Balm on your feet, wrists, or temples to get the tension and stress out of your body. If you’re still worried about lighting, look into these LED covers as well, so your sleep won’t be interrupted by intrusive lights.
Journal
I’m so bad at journaling, but if you’re one of those people who can’t stop thinking about their day while laying in bed, try writing some things down. You can take a really positive approach and write down the best things that happened to you during the day. You can also have a notepad by your bed and jot down a to-do list when you think of something. I also like being able to write out my dreams if I remember them. This way you don’t have to sit and stew on all of your thoughts, but let them all out!
Do Yoga Or A Workout
While I don’t recommend you do a HIIT to close out the rings on your Apple Watch at 10 pm, maybe look into nighttime yoga or a stretch routine. I function best when I bookend my days with yoga in the morning and at night. Certain stretches allow me to release any tension that has built up throughout the day, and it lets me release some endorphins while I’m at it!
Meditation
I don’t think I could go to sleep without the guy on my Headspace app talking to me about what I’m seeing outside my beach hut for the night. I love my meditation app so much because I can choose my sleep meditation every night and decide what will help me best. I like background noise, so I often will have it tell me a story, but I can also get music, a wind down, or a full body scan. I am big on listening to things when I go to sleep, so it helps.
Visualize
I do this if I don’t have access to my meditation app. I read about it in a book a long time ago and it’s worked wonders ever since. When I am trying to go to sleep and my mind starts racing, I try to visualize a place I know super well. It could be my room, my boyfriend’s house, my college dorm, or even a road that I drive down every day. I try to pick out every single detail I can — from the colors to the objects in it. The more exact I can be, the more I get sleepy and finally give up. I also have tried to teach myself the alphabet backwards when I’m going to sleep or I recite Shakespeare. These are just difficult enough to keep your mind occupied, but aren’t anything that will keep you awake.
Make Your Bed Sacred
I had someone tell me once that the bed is for sex and sleeping. While I do some work in my bed every now and then, I try to stick by those rules. I will work at my desk or on pillows on the floor, but if I start to just chill or work in my bed, my brain might unconsciously start associating my bed with work. Try to separate your sleep life from your awake life as much as possible.
Routine
The main point of all of this is to find a routine that will get you ready for bed. You might like some of these ideas while you cannot imagine doing others. That’s fine! Pick and choose what’s best for you and see if your sleep life improves. If you start getting into a routine to go to bed it’ll be easier to switch your brain off when you curl up under those covers.
What are some tricks and tips you do to help you fall asleep and stay asleep? What are you going to try? Comment below!
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