Key Habits for Better Sleep
Key Habits for Getting Better Sleep
Do you ever wake up after what seems like a full night's sleep, only to still feel exhausted? Are you tired of tossing and turning all night feeling so tired but still can’t sleep? You're not alone. In this article, we will explore tried-and-tested tips for achieving optimal rest and improving your sleep habits. Whether you're struggling to fall asleep or waking up feeling exhausted, we've got you covered.
Let’s be real, we’ve all had those mornings where we wake up after a full night’s sleep only to feel like it wasn’t enough. Often, not even just one of those nights. You may wonder - why do I feel so tired all the time, even after sleeping 7 or 8 hours?
The truth is, sleep quality is just as important as sleep quantity. Getting enough hours of sleep is crucial, but those hours should also be high-quality, restorative sleep at night to help you wake up feeling actually refreshed. The key to actually feeling rested is not just about getting enough sleep - it's about getting enough quality sleep.
The importance of quality sleep
Getting quality sleep is not just about feeling well-rested; it has numerous benefits for both our physical and mental health. It affects everything from our cognitive function to our emotional well-being and physical health.
When we sleep, our bodies do all of the repair and growth processes because deeper cellular work is easier to do when it’s all the body has to focus on! Things like repairing and regenerating cells, building muscle, releasing hormones that regulate our metabolism and immune system and more pretty much wait until you’re sleeping because of the energy requirement. Quality sleep also improves our cognitive function, memory, and concentration, making us more alert and productive during the day.
How can I make my sleep better: practicing proper sleep hygiene
If you find yourself struggling to get quality sleep, there are several things you can do to improve your sleep habits. Research heavily supports the formation of good, consistent habits being central to health and achieving lasting, quality sleep.
Having awareness of your sleep hygiene and practices is a top, straightforward way to hone in on areas to improve.
Sleep hygiene refers to your daily habits and bedroom environment that impact the quality of your sleep and how rested and alert you can be during the day. In my therapy practice, I've found that poor sleep hygiene is one of the biggest culprits behind feeling unrested.
Some signs that you might have poor sleep hygiene include having a hard time falling asleep, frequent waking, chronic fatigue or sleepiness during the day, and inconsistency in both sleep quality and quantity.
Optimizing your daily habits, sleep practices, and environment have general guidelines and suggestions, but we don’t have to be super rigid about it! Adjust and shift the basics to best match your life right now to set yourself up with the best footing to keep them going.
So say goodbye to sleepless nights and hello to better sleep! Let's dive in and discover the key habits for achieving optimal rest.
Tips on how to sleep better:
principles of sleep hygiene
Establish a consistent sleep schedule
A first and foremost approach to getting better sleep revolves around establishing a consistent sleep schedule. We are creatures of habit if nothing else, right? Going to bed (and sleeping) and waking up at similar times regardless of need (hello, weekends!) will help to regulate the body’s natural rhythms. These cycles are relatively easy to synchronize, but they are also easy to disrupt. If your internal clock is supported, it can become naturally easier to fall asleep and wake up.
To establish a consistent sleep schedule to sleep better at night, choose a sleeping time that allows for 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Give yourself a small buffer to get into bed and actually fall asleep, but not much otherwise it becomes counterproductive. It is probably going to take some time for your body to really register these changes and adjust, but stick to it as much as you can! Consistency is key here.
Try to follow as well as you can on the weekends (meaning, still wake up as close to 7:30am if that’s what you do on weekdays and even better if you can still also sleep around the same times too). Aim for no more than roughly a 1-hour variation.
Don’t stress if you’re currently nowhere near this. Make gradual adjustments over time until you’re in the window you desire! Currently within a 4 hour range? See about getting to 3. Doing massive sweeping changes at once is incredibly difficult to keep up with and also pretty unhelpful because: won’t work (if we could suddenly decide to sleep well and easily and that work, you wouldn’t be here), and because it can actually throw things off by going too far in the other direction.
Be careful with naps
I also encourage being specific about any napping that you might be inclined to do. Sleeping during the day - or whatever are traditionally your awake hours - can also disrupt your sleep-wake cycle. Try to limit how frequent naps are, keep them relatively short (I’m talking under 30 minutes of sleep), and reserve napping for no later than the early afternoon to not throw off your night’s rest.
Follow a nightly routine
Catching on to a consistency theme? We’re gonna keep it going. Having routine practices in how you prepare to sleep can impact how easily that sleep may come. Take some of the following to experiment with and see which things might be helpful!
Have consistent sleep signals: follow the same steps when getting ready for sleep to signal to the brain what is to come. Things like changing clothes, doing skin care practices, even brushing and flossing can all prompt the brain to start getting ready to sleep.
Schedule time to shift gears: it’s not typically possible to go from waking to sleeping just like that. Build in time to wind down to help slow things down to a state that is easier to access sleep from. I recommend no less than 30 minutes. I often find my clients feel their sweet spot is between 60 to 90 minutes. During this time, do things that are calming and restorative inching you towards sleep.
Prioritize sleep, not just rest: Do your best to stick to sleeping. Restful activities are amazing and incredibly valuable, but serve a different purpose. It’s also tempting to sometimes skip sleep in hopes of something that feels more explicitly “productive”. Working, studying, exercising, cleaning…whatever it may be, will still be there. In fact, having quality sleep actually helps you do all of those things better!
Optimize your sleeping space
Beyond sleeping practices, the other core component to sleep hygiene for better sleep is caring for the environment in which you are sleeping. Again, we want to give us the best odds at being able to sleep. Having a highly stimulating environment is not going to be as cohesive to this as would a sleep haven dedicated to what comfort and calm mean for you.
Keep your space as comfortable and peaceful as possible. If you know darkness helps? Invest in some quality blinds. Need a specific temperature? Get a nice fan or extra cozy blankets. Spend time creating the most comfortable sleep environment and then honor it by only sleeping in it.
Reserve your bed for sleeping (and sex) only
In line with the nightly pre-bed routine signaling your brain to what is coming, making sure our bed is only used for sleeping (or sexual activities) helps enforce that sleep should be happening. What this means is you want your brain to associate bed with sleep. Not with watching TV, working, eating, or endless doom scrolling. In general, we specifically want to limit stimulating activities as they interfere the most with quality sleep.
Have a digital curfew: technology and sleep
This could be a blog in and of itself and is often a part of counseling conversations around sleep if you work with a therapist. Screen time, especially directly before bed, can seriously impact sleep quality. This is primarily because of the effects of blue light stimulating the brain and triggering wakefulness.
Blue light, a type of light emitted by electronics with screens, can actually suppress the body’s production of natural sleep aids such as melatonin. By reducing your exposure to screens before bed, you are helping to create a more conducive sleeping environment for yourself, helping you get better sleep.
While some advice will suggest totally keeping electronic devices out of the room entirely, that just may not be realistic. If it is, go for it! If it’s not, that’s okay. Though it may remove some temptation to not have devices in reaching distance, I think the “digital curfew” can be more accessible.
At least 45-minutes before bed, I recommend switching from electronic activities to more relaxing ones. This can overlap with your winddown time, but does not have to. For some of my therapy clients, they find that 2-3 hours of technology-free time is best for their sleep quality.
Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the exposure to blue light as much as realistically possible for your current life. How much blue light you’ve been exposed to is more impactful on your sleep-wake cycle than how close to sleeping you’ve been exposed. While both are important, if you have to choose one as a starting place, try to limit the amount.
So, use blue light filters and aids that block exposure. There are screen protectors, glasses, and even functions on your devices to make the light warmer (you can often schedule these too!). I pretty much live with blue light blocked as much as possible due to having chronic migraines and light being a trigger. My partner, however, doesn’t and has their blue light timed to start decreasing several hours before their ideal sleep time.
Blue light keeps your brain wired and firing. So help your body wind down towards sleep by making any adjustments you can with the strongest limits within that hour immediately preceding sleep.
Have a buffer zone
Remember, having a mental association between being in bed and sleeping is important. So don’t force it if it’s genuinely not happening! If 20-30 minutes have passed of you really trying to sleep (no scrolling, reading, etc.), change it up. Get up and stretch or do a relaxing activity. Tossing and turning or just laying there waiting for the powers to be to bless you with sleep hurts the mental connection we are trying to foster.
I like to bring in a buffer zone with my therapy clients. Set up a cozy, peaceful spot to chill and recenter. This can be the same place you wind down in! Then, if and when you cannot sleep, go back there and almost start over. Read some more, listen to peaceful music again, etc. Again, the goal is to not be in bed when not sleeping. It can feel strict, but it really works.
Other healthy habits for day time that are frequently recommended:Limit caffeine intake and other stimulating substances (including nicotine), especially in the afternoon and evening
Limiting or avoiding heavy and/or spicy foods close to your sleeping window
Getting regular exercise, but not vigorous activity in the evening
Reduce alcohol consumption, especially if intended to help falling asleep as the effects will wear off eventually disrupting sleep later in the night
Prioritize natural light exposure: the best is if you can start your day with 15-minutes of natural light, but intermittent daylight exposure helps to enforce the sleep-wake cycle making it easier to sleep when you feel tired at night
Common sleep problems and disorders
If you suspect you may have a sleep disorder or are experiencing persistent sleep problems despite implementing healthy sleep habits, it's important to seek professional help. A healthcare provider specializing in sleep medicine can evaluate your symptoms, perform diagnostic tests if necessary, and provide appropriate treatment options.
Common sleep problems can include:
Insomnia
Sleep apnea
Restless leg syndrome
Hypersomnolence disorder
Narcolepsy
Sleepwalking
Sleep, or night, terrors
It is important to be mindful of potential sleep deficit, or PSD. Research determines that only 1 hour of deficit can take four whole days to recover from. The sleeping cycle is very sensitive and can take time to stabilize. So having a difficult time sleeping if chronically experiencing disruptions does not necessarily mean you have a sleeping disorder.
That being said, following the principles of sleep hygiene alone does not cure sleeping disorders. To improve your sleep quality, speak with your care team about your concerns if they persist.
How can I make my sleep better
Even if you're spending enough time in bed, if your sleep is frequently interrupted or you're not experiencing deep, restorative sleep, you may still wake up feeling tired. Proper sleep hygiene includes setting a strict sleep schedule, following a bedtime routine, forming healthy habits, and optimizing your bedroom for sleep.
Making small changes to your daily habits and sleep environment can have a big impact on your sleep quality. By focusing on improving your sleep hygiene and making sleep a priority, you can start waking up feeling truly rested and refreshed. Give these tips a try - your energy levels will thank you!
If you’re wanting to dive into your mental health, I’d love to support you! I provide therapy in New Jersey and Massachusetts to help people achieve the life they’ve been daydreaming out. Reach out to me here to get started.
As always, take good care of yourself
-Elise