A quality rest is essential to a quality day. While it’s true that people seem to be finding it harder to get sleep over the last few months, we’ve got some tips for restful sleep that would hold good at all times. Practice some or all of the following to help regularize your sleep habits.
- Set a regular sleep/wake cycle – Keep a steady sleep time and wake time so that your body and mind get accustomed to it. Try to follow this even on weekends so that it becomes habit. Avoid taking naps and only go to sleep when it’s at your decided bedtime.
- Keep devices away – Devices emit blue light which can increase the secretion of melatonin, the hormone that keeps you up, causing you to have trouble falling asleep. These devices can be kept at the far end of the room so that you are not tempted to check them at any point as you try sleeping. Engage in some light reading instead!
- Create a separate workspace – Avoid using the bed for your work, as you might unwittingly bring work thoughts to that same space. Using our beds for sleep and work areas for work would strengthen the association that the bed is where we unwind and get sound rest.
- Cut down on caffeine and alcohol – Both caffeine and alcohol can stimulate the mind and cause you to be awake or energized, either by finding it hard to fall asleep or causing disturbances at night. Cutting down would help ease you into sleep mode. If you find it hard, just make sure it’s around 3-4 hours before bedtime!
- Exercise – Start out by engaging in some home workouts for at least three days in a week or 20 minutes of exercise every day. There’s no particular time for this but should be a couple hours before it’s time to sleep. When your body is stimulated, it might be hard to bring back down to relaxed levels, no matter how tired you are.
- Set aside worry time – Often because of the worries weighing on our minds, it might be helpful to keep some time in the day when we can tap into them and not have to be as concerned or distracted by it at other times.
- Note down your thoughts – Attempting to sleep when we have a bunch of things we worry about can cause us to push back our bedtime. Keep a notepad near your table to jot down any thoughts so that they can be recorded and sorted in the morning when you are more energized to deal with it.
- Practice breathing techniques – Some breathing exercises like inhaling to the count of 7 and exhaling to the count of 11 (or 5/9) can help get a composed head when things feel like they are out of control. It adds both a calm interior and exterior.
- Download Meditation apps – Mindfulness and meditation apps like Headspace or Mindspace can be useful at any time during your day or right before you sleep as a way to recuperate after a hard day’s work. Having a relaxed mind before you get into bed can enhance the quality of sleep you get.