Bedtime routine
It is very important for you to have a regular routine before your bedtime. Your bedtime should be the same or similar each night. The routine should be similar each night because this actually signals your body that it is time for sleeping. You know this to be true because it is what we do with young kids. The same routine every night before bed helps them fall asleep and stay asleep. Apply the same logic to yourself and get the benefits! Check the last page of this guide for instructions to set up your routine.
Avoid Blue Light
When the sun is high in the sky, the sun’s rays take a short path through the atmosphere and the result is light that has a lot of the blue spectrum. As the sun goes lower in the sky, the sun’s rays take a longer path through the atmosphere and this gives them an orange tint. Your brain picks up on the orange tint and uses that as a signal that the day is coming to an end and it is soon going to be time for you to sleep. The devices that we use on a nearly-constant basis disrupt this pattern because of the blueness and brightness of their displays.
Avoid using devices for 1 to 2 hours before bed. Some people can get away with 1 hour, but some other people need to avoid devices for 2 hours otherwise their sleep is affected. If you must use a computer or phone, ensure that you enable Night Mode so that the screen is mostly dark, or download a program like F.lux (free) that will adjust your screen to a more orange hue as the sun is setting {according to your time zone). Here’s are instructions for how to enable night shift and smart invert on the iPhone.
Try not to watch TV before falling asleep and definitely don't sleep with the TV on! Your sleep is more important than seeing any show or program.
Cold bath or shower
Taking a cold bath or shower about one hour prior to your sleep time can have a dramatic effect on how easy it is for you to fall asleep. You may feel more energized temporarily because of the thrill from the cold water, but your body's hormonal response can help facilitate a good night sleep when you combine the cold shower with other options in this guide.
Substances and Supplements
Tea
Having a glass of herbal tea about 30 to 45 minutes before bed can drastically improve your sleep quality by decreasing the amount of time it takes for you to fall asleep once you get in bed.
Almond Butter & Honey
About 20 minutes before bedtime, you may find that having a tablespoon of almond butter combined with about half a teaspoon of honey can drastically improve your sleep quality by helping to stabilize blood sugar throughout the night. Sometimes the reason people don't sleep well is that their blood sugar goes very low overnight.
Vitamin D + Melatonin + Magnesium
Useful supplements for aiding in sleep quality include vitamin D, melatonin, and a magnesium supplement. Vitamin D helps with sleep quality because it is a precursor for important hormones in your body. Melatonin (side effects and interactions) can help to ease you to sleep and keep you asleep because it is a hormone that your brain produces to cause you to feel sleepy. And a magnesium supplement in powder or pill form before bed to improve the duration of your sleep. There’s a combo magnesium + melatonin powder supplement that allows you to fine-tune your dose.
If you’d prefer, you can mix magnesium with Epsom salts and dissolve both in warm water to soak your feet for ten minutes before bed.
Cool & Dark bedroom
When it comes to actually laying down to go to sleep, cooling your room to 67 - 70 degrees Fahrenheit has the most consistent effects for quality sleep. Temperatures as low as 65 degrees may work well if you keep your feet warm using socks. Experiment to find out what’s best for you.
Your bedroom should also be very dark. Make sure that light from street lights is not coming in through the window and that you don't have any charger lights or indicator lights that blink or shine overnight. Our caveman ancestors had very dark nights so try to get closer to that.
To help calm the mind
Audiobooks
The first thing that you can do if you have trouble falling asleep after you lay down is try listening to a fiction audiobook. It is important that it is fiction because the fiction story allows your brain to stop doing the problem-solving loop that it has been engaged in all day. Following along to a story means that you no longer have to try to make decisions. An audiobook is great because you can follow a story without watching a program on TV.
Meditation
Another option you can try is to check out a meditation app like Calm or Headspace. you will be amazed how much a few minutes of guided meditation can calm you and allow you to Simply Drift Off to Sleep.
Reminders App or Small Notebook
Finally, many people say that they can't fall asleep because they have so many things that they are thinking about. Maybe it's what happened today or what needs to happen tomorrow but either way you need to get those thoughts out of your head so that you can allow sleep to take over. Use the reminders app on your phone, or get a small notebook that you can put by your bedside table. Consider an app with voice features so you can create new reminders with the power of your voice.
Choose Your Sleep Time and Stick To It
Don’t worry if you’re an early bird or a night owl. We have natural rhythms so let's not fight it.
Set up a Sleep Schedule that repeats consistently, every day. Only four parts needed. Here's how it works:
Wake Time: _______________
Ask yourself: “What is the latest time you can reasonably wake up, without stressing about being late?” (For example, “Waking at 6:50am means I'll be on time, even if there's some traffic.”) That's your Wake Time.Sleep Time: _______________
Count backward from your Wake Time. If you're a teenager or training hard, make it eight hours; for a senior, maybe six. Any less, you might not have time for enough REM periods, and your sleep won't be as refreshing as it could be.Bedtime: _______________
Now, count backward twenty more minutes. This is your Bedtime, when you're finishing your final tasks, winding right down, and getting into bed.No-Screen Time: _______________
Finally, count back two more hours from your Bedtime. That's your No-Screen Time. I know, “9 o'clock” seems kinda early, but I can't argue with the science on this one. Besides, reading a book in bed is many people's perfect way to round out a day.
If your sleep schedule has become undisciplined (or even completely out-of-whack), then we must return voluntarily to the structures of childhood. Schedule your sleep, and follow the plan as closely as you can.
Having a regular bedtime is a critical part of family life, and it provides a structure which follows the rhythms of the day. Studies show that simply following a sleep schedule can help insomniacs by eliminating wakeful light at night-time and ensuring regular morning sunlight. It's also true that many record-breaking seniors have credited rest and routine for their remarkable longevity.
One final aspect of scheduling your sleep: it becomes a kind of formalized activity, like something you'd write in your calendar. The time is blocked off and dedicated to a purpose, so nothing else can interfere. This means you can anticipate bedtime and sleep time, telling yourself how nice it's going to be when you can feel washed and relaxed, and get into bed. With a schedule, you'll know exactly when that's supposed to be, so you won't get off track.