Doing Better in Bed

How much energy do you have during the day to do all the things that you want to do? How clear is your mind?

Sleep hygiene is such an incredibly important yet relatively simple tweak that easily gets overlooked. If your sleep is optimal you become better at handling the stress, pressure and challenges that life throws at you throughout the day. It becomes easier to maintain a positive attitude and peaceful mind. But it does take some discipline to pull yourself off the couch and do the things you need to do at the end of a long tiring day, when your eyes are glued to the tv and your hormones are feasting on the bag of chips. So the goal is to make it a habit. Once it has become a habit, it will cost you minimal discipline and willpower and will instead simply be routine.

General Tweaks

Work out during the first half of the day
Go to bed early and wake up at a set time every day (yes, even on week ends!).
Avoid stress, caffeine and alcohol in the later part of the day and evening. This may be tricky for some people, but alcohol doesn’t actually improve the quality of your sleep.
Have a comfortable bed and pillow and wash your sheets regularly (just basic logic and hygiene folks)
Sleep at cooler temperatures - crack a window if you can so that you are breathing good air throughout the night.
Have a nighttime routine: this is a period of time before bed in which you can ‘wind down’. This is the perfect time to clean up a little, take a bath, read, listen to music and stretch your body.

Further Tips

If you find you are a worrier and/or are having a lot of thoughts at night: write them down in a notebook. The process of writing puts the thought out of your mind, and you don’t have to worry about remembering it because it’s written right there.

Make a to-do list in the evening. This way you can remember what didn’t get done today that will have to be done tomorrow, and you can get a jump-start in the morning and will also give you a more exact reason to get up in the mornings.
Have a serious look at any medications you’re taking. Sleeping pills don’t actually put you to sleep they just knock you out and thus don’t have the same restorative effect that sleep has. Please only take if absolutely necessary
If you suffer from persistent nightmares I highly recommend you find some type of meditation that you feel comfortable with and find someone to talk to.
To relax involve your senses. Dim the lights, be conscious of smelling something delicious, feel the fabric of the bed, listen to quiet, peaceful music or video (Animal shows are always good!), make sure you don’t feel too hot or too cold, open a window and feel what it feels like to breathe in the fresh evening air, really taste your food or your tea, look at something that’s pleasing to the eyes