10 Proven Tips to Fix Your Sleep
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If you struggle with a lack of sleep, poor sleep quality, or both, the following tips could help you get back on track. The average person needs around seven to nine hours of sleep a night – some a little less, some a little more. In terms of sleep quality, around half of your night’s sleep should be spent in light sleep, around a quarter in deep sleep, and the rest in REM sleep (rapid eye movement).
What are the Effects of Poor Sleep?
Poor sleep quality can have a huge impact on your wellbeing. Mentally, it can contribute to low mood, increased stress, and impaired cognitive function.
Physically, it can weaken your immune system, raise your risk of chronic conditions like obesity and heart disease, and disrupt your hunger hormones, increasing the likelihood of you making poor diet choices after a bad night. Inadequate sleep can even hinder exercise recovery by limiting your body’s ability to repair and build muscle.
10 Proven Sleep Tips to Try
1. Blackout your room
Make your bedroom as dark as possible. Exposure to light, whether from streetlamps or electronic devices, can stimulate the wake-inducing hormone cortisol. Wear an eye mask, try blackout curtains or inexpensive Velcro blackout sheets, and cover any electronic lights with black tape.
2. Cool it down
Transform your bedroom into a cool, comfortable sleep sanctuary. Most people sleep best in a room maintained at around 65-68°F (18°C). If you don’t have air conditioning, use a fan, or keep the windows open. You can still use blankets to keep your body warm while you breathe in cool, sleep-enhancing air.
3. Create a sacred sleeping space
Designate your bed as a sacred space exclusively for sleep and sex. Avoid watching TV, scrolling on your phone, or eating in bed. This will help your brain to recognize bed as a place for rejuvenation, improving your sleep experience.
4. Sleep sober
Avoid relying on alcohol or substances to fall asleep. While they may help you doze off quickly, they compromise sleep quality by disrupting your natural sleep cycle. Use sleep aids such as CBD, THC, GABA, or melatonin sparingly, too. Reserve them for exceptional circumstances, like jetlag.
5. Set a food and caffeine curfew
To optimize your digestive system for restful sleep, allow at least one to three hours for food to digest before bedtime, ideally four to five hours. Your caffeine cut-off point should come much earlier in the day – no later than noon. Caffeine has a half-life of about 12 hours, so late caffeine consumption can disrupt your sleep quality even if it doesn’t stop you falling asleep.
6. Choose an optimal sleep position
Your sleeping position significantly impacts the quality of your sleep. The ideal positions are sleeping on your side, which optimizes breathing and circulation, or on your back with an elevated upper body (modified Fowler’s position). These positions can help alleviate issues like snoring, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome. Use special pillows to help you get comfy.
7. Track your breathing
Monitor your breathing patterns at night using a free app like SnoreLab. It offers insights into your respiratory health, revealing whether you snore, wheeze, breathe rapidly or suffer with sleep apnea. Understanding your breathing patterns can help you identify potential sleep-related issues and make improvements without the need for expensive devices.
8. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule
Train your nervous system for better sleep by going to bed and waking up at the same times every day, even on weekends. This regularity helps your body anticipate rest and prepares it for quality sleep, leading to improved overall sleep patterns.
9. Establish a pre-bed mindfulness ritual
Establish a calming pre-bedtime routine to shift your nervous system into a parasympathetic, “rest and digest” mode. Try listening to soothing music, practicing meditation or prayer, or engaging in mindful breathing exercises like 4:8 belly breathing (inhale through your nose to the count of four and exhale through your nose for eight). Then finish off by repeating this mantra three times: “With everything going on in my life, right now, the very best thing I can do is sleep.”
10. Keep a sleep journal
You could use a tracking app on your phone or smartwatch, but a simple bedside journal will also do. Write down the time you get into bed, the time you get out of bed, then rank your night’s sleep on a scale of one to ten. Hopefully, by implementing some, or all, of these tips, you will begin to see significant improvements to your sleep within a couple of weeks.
Safety Disclaimer
Sleep problems can be very serious. Severe sleep apnea, circulation, and heart irregularities at night can even be life-threatening. Please check with your doctor before starting any self-care routine.
Want to Learn More?
- Join our YOGABODY Daily at-home fitness program
- Check out our YouTube Channel (free to subscribe)
- The Lucas Rockwood Show Podcast
