Sleeping is one of the most important parts of taking care of one’s physical and mental health, and getting enough sleep is absolutely paramount if you want to feel at your best. However, falling asleep at night and staying asleep can be difficult for people due to various reasons. If you’re someone who struggles with falling asleep you’re far from being alone in that struggle.
Sleeping aids can be a great way of ensuring that you’re able to fall asleep, but this is something that you don’t want to get dependent on for a number of reasons. If you are in a pinch and need to fall asleep quickly, these sleep aids are excellent as a supplementary tool to help you fall asleep but they are not something that you should solely rely on every night.
This text will provide some good tips and tricks that you can use and keep in mind if you want to give yourself the best possible chances to fall asleep when you want to at night. Even if you’ve heard some of these tips before, the article as a whole can be a great source of inspiration for those looking to make a positive change in their sleeping habits.
Do your best to go to bed at the same time each day
One of the best ways of ensuring that you’re able to fall asleep when you want to is to build a habit of falling asleep at the same time every day. Our bodies are very susceptible to routines and if you start going to bed at the same time, your body’s internal clock will recognise this and allow you to fall asleep easier and faster.
This is something that can be very difficult to do at first, simply because your body might be used to falling asleep at a much later time than what you wish for. You’re therefore more than likely going to have a couple of nights where you have a hard time falling asleep, but it gets a lot easier after a couple of days.
When you’ve been at it for a couple of weeks it’s going to feel like second nature and you will likely be able to fall asleep after just a couple of minutes. This is also where sleeping aids can be used to help you fall asleep at your desired time, something that is very beneficial when you’re trying to establish your new sleeping routine.
However, this is not something that you need to stick to religiously. There’s nothing wrong with staying up later one or two days on the weekend in order to hang out with friends or simply watch movies at home. As long as you have this habit and routine down to one or two days of swaying from it a week isn’t going to make a difference in the long run.
Stay away from caffeinated drinks in the afternoon
Another thing that can be very helpful to keep in mind is the fact that caffeine makes it much more difficult to fall asleep, regardless of your daily intake. Caffeine has a half-life in the human body of roughly six hours, which means that a cup of coffee you drink at 5 pm is going to still be active in your body if you want to try and wind down and go to sleep at around 10 pm. Therefore it is wise to avoid caffeine altogether after lunch or 1 pm, to ensure that it’s all out of your system once bedtime rolls around.
Listen to something that helps you relax
This is not something that works for everyone but can be an effective tool to utilise. For some people, podcasts are a great way of winding down and relaxing when you’re lying in bed. A popular option is various sounds from nature such as rain or thunderstorms, while others prefer white noise or static. Experiment with different options and see if it’s something that helps you.
Blue light tricks your brain
One of the most important parts of making sure that you’re able to fall asleep when you want to is to avoid blue light during a period of time before you fall asleep. Screens such as phones, computers, tablets and TV’s all emit blue light which tricks the body into thinking that it’s still daylight outside while at the same time suppressing melatonin production.
Instead of getting ready for bed and then lying awake scrolling for a while, you should leave your devices outside the bedroom and set your alarm before you get ready for bed. By doing this you allow your body and your brain to wind down, decompress and get ready for falling asleep.
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