7 Tips to Optimise Your Sleep for a Happier and Healthier Life
If you make only one lifestyle change this year, let it be this: PRIORITISE YOUR SLEEP. This advice isn’t only for those who already know they struggle with sleep, but also for the people who get the recommended 7-9 hours but still wake up tired in the morning.
Here are some simple tips to help you improve your quality of sleep, give your health a boost and change your life for the better!
Think about your sleep: Are you getting enough hours? Do you struggle to fall asleep? Do you wake up during the night? Do you wake up tired in the morning?
There are many reasons why someone may struggle to have a decent night’s sleep; stressful or exciting events during the day, caffeine that’s still in their system, worrying about the future, restlessness from lack of movement in the evening, disturbance from the blue light of their phone (normally from scrolling social media before settling for sleep)… or even just a dog barking outside.
Having said this, falling asleep is only half of the battle. Even if you're someone who gets a good number of hours in bed, you can still wake up exhausted in the morning and have no idea why. The most common reason for this is that our sleep is disturbed for one reason or another and we wouldn't even notice.
Why is it important to sleep well?
I guess the real question is, why does it matter? Why is it important to have good quality sleep on a regular basis? Some reasons feel fairly obvious, such as having more energy in the morning, better focus at work and generally making us a nicer person to be around. However, quality of sleep also has a huge impact on our overall health, affecting everything from weight management to our immune system and ability to stay well in mind and body.
The good news is that there are so many simple things we can do to improve our quality of sleep and that most of them are just things that make us feel good! Here are some of my favourite tips for a better night’s sleep…
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1. Nighttime brain dump
If you have a busy mind (like me!), you probably find it quite difficult to turn off and unwind in the evening. For this, I like to turn to a fresh page in my notebook and write out any thoughts or worries that are churning away inside of me. The last thing you want is to lie there in the silent darkness dwelling about the past or worrying about the future. Everything feels so much worse at times like this; you're tired and far from the right state of mind to solve all of life’s problems.
Don't feel you need to stop once all of your worries are down on paper. You can also use this time to write down anything you don't want to forget for tomorrow so you have all of your bases covered for your head hits the pillow.
BONUS: A nice way to finish off a nighttime brain dump is to begin a sentence with the phrase, “I am grateful for…” and end it with whatever first comes to your mind. This gives you a positive message to linger on that can further help to distance yourself from any negative thoughts or worries.
2. Have a warm bath
Baths aren't just for cleaning ourselves anymore! They can now create the perfect atmosphere and conditions for our minds and bodies to completely relax.
In scientific terms, the hot water from a bath changes the body's core temperature. When you eventually go to bed, your body will have dropped to a lower temperature, which helps signal to the body that it's time to sleep. Try this about an hour before you want to fall asleep for the best results.
Why not use this as an opportunity to treat yourself? Light candles, put on some calming music and read a good book.
3. Enjoy caffeine in the morning …and no later!
This one is a little less fun for all of the tea and coffee lovers out there. But I bet you’d be shocked to know that if you have a coffee in the early afternoon, there can still be caffeine in your system come midnight!
Caffeine can disrupt sleep for many reasons, including interrupting the body’s production of melatonin (the sleep hormone). What we do in the hours leading up to going to bed has a huge impact on our quality of sleep. If we don't make time to relax and unwind after a busy day, we may be limiting the production of melatonin and our sleep will suffer. This will also have a knock on effect for the following day, when we would have less energy and be less able to focus at work.
So, only enjoy your teas or coffees in the morning to help your body move through its natural daily cycle and fully recharge with a peaceful night’s sleep.
4. Turn off all screens 30 minutes before bed
How many of us come home after using a computer all day, spend the evening watching TV, then scroll through our phone in bed before turning off the light and hoping to enjoy a rejuvenating sleep?
We have become overloaded by screens. They’re now essential to our life, and it's very difficult to limit our use. Luckily, there are many apps available that can help us use our phones a little less, so definitely take a look online to see if there’s one that will work for you!
There are many bodily processes that can be interrupted when we’re focusing on a screen; we don’t breathe as much, our eyes can become dry through lack of blinking, and our production of melatonin can be affected by the blue light.
Blue light is part of the light spectrum visible by humans and has the highest energy. Sunlight is the biggest source of blue light, so when we use screens that emit blue light, our brains react to this in the same way they react to sunlight. It’s a signal to our bodies that it is morning and we should be more awake and ready for the day. …A very unhelpful signal when you’re trying to settle down for sleep!
Turning off all screens as early as possible can be a huge help when it comes to improving sleep patterns and quality of sleep. Not to mention that it’ll save us from a barrage of information that could provoke the negative thoughts we spoke about earlier!
5. Stretch or practise gentle yoga
While high-intensity exercise like running or HIIT can be a great way to energise yourself in the morning, try something a little gentler at night to lower your heart rate, slow down your breathing and calm your mind.
Low-intensity exercise like yoga or body stretches can improve our mood and lower our stress levels, key elements when it comes to improving sleep and living a happier and healthier life. Stress can be damaging to our mind and body, not just in the moment we feel it but the effects can linger for long afterwards and even make us ill. This is why it’s so important to build up a toolkit of activities we enjoy to counter the stress in our life and help ourselves to be more resilient to the pressures around us.
Why not grab your FREE Stress Less Toolkit below to find out more?
6. Avoid intense TV in the evening
Having read the other tips that refer to lowering the heart rate and calming the mind, this one probably makes a lot of sense! If you're into scary movies or emotionally intense TV shows, it's best to enjoy these earlier in the day so that there’s enough time to wind down and prepare for sleep come the evening.
Does your mind already have a tendency to keep busy, even after your head hits the pillow? Then you’ll want to avoid feeding it more unsettling information to worry about. If you’ve noticed that this can be a problem for you, it may even be a good idea to limit your intake of the daily news to the morning time.
Just as I would say to a client, making lifestyle changes for long-term health is never about neglecting yourself or denying yourself what you enjoy. The most important thing is to find balance with the healthy habits that you want to adopt and the (less healthy but still fun) foods or activities you want to keep as part of your life, because they make you happy!
7. Build a bedtime routine
To see the best improvement in your sleep, why not pick your favourite tips from this list and create your very own bedtime routine? You can even add in some other ideas like reading a relaxing book or doing some breathing exercises; anything that fits in to the time available and, most importantly, makes you feel good!
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The takeaway message…
Trying out any of these tips could improve your quality of sleep for tonight, but the most effective way of putting these into practice is finding the techniques that you enjoy the most so that you're able to keep them up for better sleep and a brighter, healthier and happier life!
Working with a Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach truly maximises your chance of forming healthy habits that are the most natural and sustainable for your unique self.
Why not book a taster session with me today to walk away with your 5-point action plan for health and happiness and see what coaching could do for you?
See you next time!
Jo x
If you’d like some more ideas of how to look after yourself with more care, patience and positivity, download the completely FREE Stress Less Toolkit below.
Feeling stress from work? Check out this related post:
7 PRODUCTIVITY AND TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS TO AVOID FEELING OVERWHELMED
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Next steps…
These are only some of the possibilities when it comes to improving your health and lifestyle. Find out which activities would be right for you by working with a Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach.