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We’re running around all day and night, ensuring our own success and the success of our loved ones. We get up early so that we can prepare our kids for school (by kids, I mean your hubby too). We stay up late studying for our night classes. We’re doing last minute paperwork for work. We’re reading to our kids. We do it all and there gets to be a point where you might just wear yourself out.
How do you ensure that doesn’t happen? You eat right, drink enough water, and you make sure that you get enough sleep. The first two might be a little easier than the last, especially if you run your own business, take care of your family, are in school and have a full time job, or any combination of those things. So, do you know how to get a good night sleep?
We take sleep for granted. It is true that people who wake up early in the morning to be productive are the most successful. However, that doesn’t mean that you should be missing out on sleep. That just means that those people get up early.
Here are my tips for getting a restful night’s sleep more often than not.
Table of Contents
How To Get A Good Night Sleep
1. Stick to a Bedtime Routine
Try to stick to some kind of sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night. It helps your body realize when it should be relaxed every night. It may sound silly but it really does work. Once your schedule is established, you’ll find that if you miss it, you’ll be tired when you normally should be hitting the sack.
Making a nightly ritual helps a lot. Tuck your kids into bed, read them a story. Then take a warm bath with a cup of tea, or cuddle up with a good book before bed.
2. Turn off Your Electronics
A lot of couples all over the world watch TV before they hit the sack. They cuddle up with their husbands and watch “The Late Show” or their favorite sitcoms before bed. Sure, that may seem like a great ritual.
Unfortunately, studies have shown that using electronic products right before bed (like a Kindle, watching TV, surfing the internet on your laptop or phone, etc.) doesn’t allow your mind to wind down – even if you’re doing something mindless.
Instead, grab a book or do some journaling about your day.
Better yet, hop in bed with your hubby and spend some quality time together. Talk about how your day went.
3. Fix Your Bed in the Morning
When you get up in the morning, fix your bed. That way, when you go to bed at night, you won’t walk in on a messy, uninviting bed.
In addition to that, try to make your bedroom a haven for sleep and relaxation. If you live in a tiny apartment, it might be harder than if you own your own house. However, you should try to limit what you put into your bedroom to things that you find relaxing. Don’t put bookcases in your room (that is distracting to the eye and makes your mind wander).
As far as paint schemes go, try to pick a soothing color. Green often promotes tranquility and health. I’ve also heard that it helps with creativity also (just like the color blue). So if you’re always coming up with various ideas and if your mind wanders often, don’t pick green. Lavender is also a good choice for a calming color.
4. Tire Yourself Out During the Day
This one won’t be hard for most. If you stay active during the day, you’ll find that when your head hits the pillow, you’ll be zonked out.
Don’t take that nap. I know that I just destroyed your whole day by saying that but if you’re having trouble sleeping at night, you really shouldn’t be taking naps during the day.
5. Take Control of Your Stress Level
There is a difference between being busy and being stressed. You can be busy and not be stressed. Usually it is possible by being able to compartmentalize the various parts of your life. If you don’t have that ability just yet, you can help de-stress your life by picking up various, healthy stress relief techniques such as:
- meditation (this can be as in depth as you need it to be)
- breathing exercises (this can be as simple as, “taking a deep breath and letting it out on a count of 5”)
- reflecting on your day (this is therapeutic and calming)
- making organized to-do lists (to help take pressure off of your situation and help future tasks)
- cleaning (it can be both symbolic and useful)
Learn more about relieving stress
The Power of Positive Thinking: How to Relieve Stress and Change Your Life
Practical Meditation For Beginners: A Beginners Guide to Relieve Anxiety, Stress and Depression. Stop Negative Thinking: How To Stop Worrying, Relieve Stress, and Become a Happy Person Again
6. No Caffeine After 3PM
If you’ve still got a busy day after 3PM and you’re feeling sluggish, use other tricks to perk yourself up. Even the caffeine in decaf coffee and decaf tea can give you a boost and can help trick you mind into bumping it up a notch.
Try drinking more water as well. Try energy boosting snacks like almonds and berries. Even exercise and fresh air helps.
Now that you know how to get a good night sleep, your days will hopefully be more energized, and you’ll feel better all around.
I would actually back that caffeine time limit up and say no caffeine after noon or even 10 am. I know if I have a glass of strong coffee at 8 am, it’ll be 1 pm before the coffee buzz wears off and I stop shaking. If I had another cup after noon, I’d never stop speeding!!
The no caffeine rule is trickier than people think, because it is in everything–tea, coffee, soda, even chocolate. When I struggle with insomnia, I just don’t touch it. It’s not worth the sleepless misery it produces!
I know I could not skip caffeine after 3pm. That would be one of the hardest ones to stick to. I try to skip drinking pop after lunch but I do get caffeine in other foods.
Wow, that sounds like pretty potent coffee. I don’t drink coffee, I drink Coke. I usually have one can a day and I have it with lunch.
I have such a hard time keeping my schedule the same from day to day. For one thing, I don’t work the same hours everyday, and that in and of itself makes it nearly impossible to sleep and wake at the same time.
I had a doctor say the same thing to me once when I was having issues with insomnia. I think her time frame was noon. After that, go decaf!
My biggest issue is the television. I don’t really watch TV in bed, but I do leave it on all night with the volume turned down. This is a bad habit I picked up from my dad and I know I need to stop, but it feels like an impossible task.
One part of getting a good nights sleep is the waking up part. My bedroom is pitch black when I sleep, so my alarm clock is set to play soft music to wake me up. I don’t jar myself awake.
I have a program called Sleep Time that gradually wakes you up, and I’ve noticed a difference on days when I use it and days when I don’t. Being woken up gradually makes me much less cranky and much more alert than waking up to an alarm.
I know exactly what you mean! I was going to comment something very similar. I literally cannot fall asleep without the TV and the volume up just high enough to hear. Otherwise, it’s too dark and quiet in my bedroom. Sounds like I’m afraid of the dark, doesn’t it?!
Schedules are still something that I have issues with. I try to stick with them the best I can but like today, I have times when I fall asleep early. I just woke up on the couch from a 30 minute nap which means I am going to be up longer tonight than I had originally planned for.
I’m terrible when it comes to sticking to a schedule. Some nights I go to bed at 8:00 and others it’s not until midnight or later. The one thing that stays consistent is what time I get up, so that means many nights I’m not getting enough sleep.
I don’t think I can give up the caffeine after 3 pm, and sticking to a schedule is often easier said than done when you have small kids. I have been working out more and that seems to help me sleep better and have a little more energy during the day.
You could always try a clock radio with a good backlight on it. It works for me and the sounds are more soothing than anything on the television.