I participated in an Ambassador program on behalf of Influence Central for Pernix Therapeutics. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
Last month I shared with you about my struggles with insomnia. I also shared information pertaining to the prevalence of insomnia in America. My main issue isn’t really that I can’t fall to sleep. It’s that I can’t stay asleep for long. 4-5 hours seems to be my average unless it’s been several days of poor sleep, then I get a good 8 hours. Well, if you are like me, I have some shut eye strategies to share with you to help you {and me} get a better night’s sleep.
Shut Eye Strategies For A Better Night’s Sleep
1. Get Active Early – If you are a person who has a hard time going to sleep, this is something you definitely need to think about. If you exercise early in the day, it can help your body regulate it’s circadian rhythm. Then when you are ready to go to bed at night, you just might be sleepy. 🙂
2. Make Sure To Get Comfy – When you do relaxing activities close to bedtime, it can help remind your body that it’s time for sleep. Taking a warm bath, reading a relaxing book {not something too thought provoking} and listening to some relaxing book are all great ways to help wind your body and mind down for bedtime.
3. Sign Off – Admittedly, this is a bad one for me. I love to lay in bed with my phone and mess around on social media. I am going to try to break that habit and you should, too. Put the phone away all of your electronic devices at least one hour before you go to bed. The LED lights in these devices can activate the brain. Naturally, this can prevent you from feeling sleepy when it’s time for bed.
4. Go Dark Before Bed – Too much light in the room I am trying to sleep in bother me. There is a reason for that. Lightness and darkness are reminders to your brain and body of when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time to be asleep. Light during the night can help you wake up when you should be sleeping. I have found that room darkening curtains help.
My Shut Eye Strategies
So, I have a plan to get a better night’s sleep. I am going to start with staying off of social media close to bedtime. I am on the internet almost all day anyway for work. So, I could definitely use some relaxation and “me time” at night anyway. The possibility of getting better sleep just makes this even more appealing.
I am also going to try to make my bedroom totally dark. There is a charging station in there with a light on it that kind of bothers me. I love the light blocking curtains that we added to the room, but that light distracts me. I am going to move the charger out of the room or turn it off at night.
Final Thoughts
Getting a full night’s sleep is critical to your overall health and well-being. I find that when I don’t get enough sleep, I feel not as bright. I don’t like the feeling of being sluggish and forgetful, so I will definitely be implementing these shut eye strategies for a better night’s sleep. I will be sharing my results with you in a later post and I would love to hear yours. You can learn more about getting a better night’s sleep at Wanttosleepmore.com, and if you want to understand more about sleep deprivation, click here.
What Are Your Favorite Shut Eye Strategies?
The biggest thing to help me sleep like a rock at night = exercise in the morning… Oh and cut off all caffeine by 12pm!!!
I usually gets 7 hours of sleep most of the time. I cannot sleep when there is light.
I needed this in my life! Thanks for all the tips!
I have been working on getting a better quality of sleep./ Hardest one for me is signing off but.. I am doing it!
You have some great tips. Insomnia really affects the quality of life for many people.
I definitely need to shut off my phone sooner. I have trouble falling and staying asleep. I take melatonin to help too. I also need to make my room darker. Thanks for all the ideas.
Excelente tips!! If BB may add one- don’t listen/watch the news before going to bed. To quote Peter Pan- “think happy thoughts” for a better sleep, and if you also list 3 things/happenings of the day for which you are grateful, that also will be a great basis for a more restful night. BB2U
That is a great tip about the news. I definitely have a hard time sleeping if I am worried and the news often is full of stressful stories.
Before kids, I was always a good sleeper and could sleep anywhere, anytime. Now I’m lucky to score 4-5 hours a night. For me too it’s trying to get to sleep and turn off my brain. These are good tips and I know I need to work on getting unplugged before bedtime!
We have a lot of fun when I retire to my cave (bedroom). I have trouble sleeping so dark room is a must.
I love to drink some tea, then lay down an try to relax and hopefully go to sleep