How to Sleep Better

Sleep is foundational to optimizing mental health and wellbeing. Which is why it’s the first aspect that I focus on improving with my clients.

I have even found that quality of sleep is related to the quality of your thinking. Have you noticed when you’re tired, or sick, you feel grumpy and down as a result? I know I have. This is because if you aren’t feeling well physically, it tends to pull you into a lower mood, making it harder to access your clear mind.

Yesterday was International Women’s Mountain Bike Day. To celebrate, I went on two bike rides and rode over 20km. The following night I had a great sleep, to say the least!

I’m going to share some tricks with you that help improve your sleep, too.

#1 Decide on a time to wake up in the morning and stick to it. Rather than setting your alarm for the latest possible time, figure out how much time you need in the morning to get you and everyone ready then set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier than that. Rushing around first thing in the morning is not the best way to start your day. It’s an opportunity to start your day slowly, feeling calm and peaceful, and ready to tackle your day.

#2 If you have a busy household, such as having young kids at home, try getting up before everyone else so that you can squeeze in some quiet time for stillness in the morning. That might look like simply having your coffee, tea, or morning drink in quiet, and it will be worth it.

#3 Now that you have you regular wake up time, decide on a bedtime. Count back and plan how many hours of sleep you would like to have. Most adults need between 6 and 8 hours of sleep per night. More than 8 and you will probably feel groggy during the day.

#4 Stick to your routine, even on weekends. This one isn’t easy sometimes if you like going out. But to help your body train for better sleep, it’s important use a routine every day with the same bedtime and same wake up time.

#5 No screen time before bed or in the night. Looking at a device with blue light, such as a tablet, laptop, kindle, or phone, before bed tricks your mind into waking up. The blue light reduces the amount of melatonin being released in your brain making it harder to fall asleep. If you wake up in the night and can’t sleep, do not reach for your phone as the blue light will completely wake your brain up and any hopes of falling back asleep along with it.

#6 Go to sleep with a clear mind. Neuroscience studies have shown if you go to sleep with elevated cortisol levels, the stress hormone, “sleeping it off” doesn’t work. You simply wake up with elevated cortisol levels.?This means if you go to sleep feeling anxious or stressed, you’ll wake up feeling the same way. This is why it’s important to calm your mind before bed so that you go to sleep with a good feeling and can sleep peacefully through the night.

#7 If you’ve been having restless sleeps, try increasing your exercise. Neuroscience has shown that if you exercise harder than usual, that night your brain will put your body into a deeper sleep so that it can take longer to rest and repair the body. Whatever your typical exercise is, add 10-25% to have a deeper sleep that night. For example, if you walk for exercise, go for a longer more brisk walk. If you run, go to the gym, or use cardio for exercise, push yourself to work out for 10% longer. This way your body will get the deep sleep it’s craving – and you’ll feel great physically.

#8 Cut back on alcohol. Alcohol is sneaky as it seems to help us fall asleep initially, but then around 2am it wakes the brain up and you fall into a light sleep from 2am forward. To avoid this, try cutting yourself off from alcoholic drinks past 8pm and only have water afterwards. Or better yet, try cutting out alcohol completely for one week and notice how dramatically your sleep improves.

#9 Be mindful of sugar and caffeine content in any drinks or food that you consume after dinner. Sugar is surprisingly found in many items that you wouldn’t realize until you read the label. As someone who eats a paleo diet (no gluten, no dairy), I was so excited to find a cupcake that was gluten free and dairy free until I read the label and saw it had 46 grams of sugar, which is almost a day’s worth of sugar in a single cupcake! I know if I have too much sugar after dinner for dessert, it’s going to wake up my body and I’ll have a harder time falling asleep.

#10 Decide on your routine and stick to it, but don’t beat yourself up when you fall off it. There will always be life events that will alter your schedule, including children or other family members, going on vacation, etc. It doesn’t matter if you fall out of routine, what matters is that you get yourself back on it.

#11 Finally – Make it fun! This doesn’t need to be another chore on your to-do list. Try experimenting with it for one week and notice how good you feel. Then, make it a fun challenge that you commit to so that you can continue feeling your best and showing up as your best self at work and at home.

Sleep is a major cornerstone of health. If you want to feel better mentally and physically, you must prioritize getting a good night’s rest.

Have fun with it – the better you feel, the easier it becomes to be your best self and enjoy life more.

Tracey

P.S. Want to be a better version of yourself, reconnect in your relationships, and experience a deeper satisfaction of life? Then you may be interested in one of my 1:1 coaching spots.

Together we will upgrade every aspect of your life including sleep, mindset, how you show up at work, and bringing your best self home at the end of the day.

If you’ve ever felt like something is missing in your life but you can’t quite find what that is, this is it. We’ll meet one-on-one on a regular basis and your life will change. ?

There are only 5 spots a year to coach with me personally. Two have been taken. Want to apply for one??Email me at [email protected] and say “Tracey, I’d like to learn more about your coaching”.?