Do you struggle to get enough quality, restful sleep?

Do you struggle to get enough quality, restful sleep? Try some of these strategies to see if you can improve your shuteye.

-Keep a regular schedule.

Our bodies like regularity. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and night. While it might be unrealistic to do this seven days a week — especially if you have younger children or those that rise early, like I do — try to be as consistent as possible.

If you’re consistent, your body will know when to release calming hormones before bed, and stimulating hormones to help you wake up. You’ll feel sleepy when it’s time for bed and wake up more refreshed, often without needing an alarm.

-Keep alcohol and caffeine moderate.

Genuinely restful and restorative sleep comes from deep sleep.

Even though it seems like booze is relaxing, more than 1-2 drinks in the evening can interfere with deep sleep, as can too much caffeine.

So limit alcohol to the suggested amounts, and reduce caffeine after 2 pm.

Otherwise, although you may “sleep” for 7 hours, your sleep won’t be high quality, and you won’t get the recovery benefits.

-Eat and drink appropriately.

Having a large meal immediately before bed can disrupt your ability to fall and stay asleep.  Instead, eat a regular-sized (or even smallish) meal a few hours before bedtime.

A nice blend of protein, carbs and fats will help to keep you satiated, and might even improve your ability to fall asleep as your brain converts carbs to serotonin.

In addition, try to limit your fluids 2-3 hours before bedtime. Drinking too much liquid shortly before bed can result in frequent waking for bathroom breaks.

While total sleep time is important, uninterrupted sleep time is even better.

-Do a brain dump (Journaling)

Stared at the ceiling, long after lights-out, obsessing about all the things we’re supposed to do tomorrow, tossing and turning and getting more and more stressed by the minute?

Try this instead: In the evening, take a few minutes to write out a list of whatever’s bugging you: Emails you need to send or reply to, calls you have to make, project ideas, creative thoughts, that thing you should have said to so-and-so…

Whatever is in your brain, get it out and on to paper.

It clears your mind for genuine relaxation.

-Turn off electronics.

Digital devices stimulate our brain with their light, noise, and mental demands.

Unplug from all screens — TVs, computers, phones, tablets — at least 30 minutes before bed.

(If you must read your tablet, switch the screen to the black or dimmer background)

Our brain produces melatonin as light levels decrease. Melatonin ensures deep sleep, and may also help regulate our metabolism. If we have too much light at night, we don’t get proper melatonin production.

-Stretch / read / de-stress before bed.

What de-stresses you? Do that.

This could include:

* Gentle movement 

* Reading before bed

* Meditation, deep breathing, or other simple relaxation exercises

-Go to bed before midnight.

According to some sleep experts, because of the way our natural circadian rhythms work, every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after.

(Whether that’s true or not, or whether it’s even measurable, I’m not sure. But I’ve heard it repeated so often by sleep experts it’s probably worth consideration.)

-Sleep at least seven hours.

Most people need 7-9 hours of sleep per night. 7 should be your baseline.

If you know you have to wake at 5:15 to get ready for work, then you should be in bed by 9:30 and asleep by 10. Getting in bed at 10:15 doesn’t count.

Also factor in transition time. Don’t stop what you’re doing at 9:29 and expect to be snoring by 9:30. Start moving in the direction of bed by 9:00.

-Exercise regularly.

Exercising regularly helps normalize circadian rhythms, tone down the sympathetic nervous system, and regulate endocrine function.

However, save the intense exercise for during the day if possible — a weights or interval workout in the evening can rev us up and make it tougher to get to sleep.

-Take a bath or shower.

While not everyone likes to shower or bathe at night, warm water before bed can help us relax and de-stress, which is key for falling asleep. If you go the warm water route, throw in some magnesium-based epsom salts as magnesium is known to help with sleep.

Others swear by cold water in the evening. The logic is that cold water stimulates a strong parasympathetic nervous system response once the initial shock has passed. A short, very cold shower will do the trick.

Give it a try, and see which works better for you.

-Optimising your sleep environment

In addition to creating a nightly sleep routine, to help improve your sleep quality and duration, you should ensure that your sleeping environment is actually conducive to sleep.

A few small adjustments can make a big difference here.

-Keep the room as dark as possible.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by your brain that signals to your body it is time for sleep. Making your room as dark as possible will maximize your melatonin production.

Meanwhile, light — particularly blue light, which most electronics produce — inhibits melatonin production and makes it harder to fall and stay asleep. (Sunsets produce red light.)

-Create a relaxing sleep area that is quiet and free of clutter.

Your bedroom should be relatively organised and peaceful.

The sight of clothes strewn all over the floor or furniture, boxes or books toppling over, and tangled cords can make you feel stressed and interfere with your ability to relax.

-Set your room to an appropriate temperature.

Most people sleep better when it’s cool, others sleep better at a neutral temperature.

Find what works best for you and do your best to regulate your bedroom to that temperature each night.

I hope you find some of the suggestions and strategies beneficial and please do let me know how you get on.

Sweet dreams ??