Five Tips to Achieve Better Sleep

Do you have trouble getting enough sleep at night? Do you toss and turn, unable to fall asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night? Getting good sleep can be challenging, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Here are some tips to help you get better sleep.

1. Use Light to Reep Your Sleep Rhythms in Check

Your body takes its cues from the light you expose yourself to throughout the day. If you see a lot of bright, blue-tinted light, your body thinks it’s morning. Similarly, if there isn’t much blue light in your environment, you’ll find it easier to fall asleep in the next few hours.

Most electronics and many artificial lights emit blue light, which can confuse your body in the evening. However, that doesn’t mean you have to give up modern conveniences to get good sleep.

• Try to spend at least two hours during the day in natural light or bright artificial light.
• Turn off any bright lights, including the TV, at least two hours before bedtime.
• Download apps to block blue light on your electronic screens, like f.lux for your computer.

2. Keep Consistent Sleeping Patterns

If you struggle with sleep, you may find it difficult to stick to consistent sleeping patterns, but the lack of consistency may be the cause of the problem.

If you wake up and at least try to fall asleep at the same time each day, your circadian rhythm or sleep patterns will reset to match those times.

• Wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Try to fall asleep at the same time each night, too.
• Avoid long or irregular daytime naps. Sleeping in the day can confuse your internal clock and make it harder to fall asleep later that night.

3. Have a Bedtime Routine

One of the best ways to tell your body that it’s time to sleep is to relax. Different activities or environments work better for different people, so you may need to try several methods to help clear your mind before bedtime.

• Consider listening to relaxing music, taking a hot bath, reading a book, meditating, or visualization.
• If you have a lot on your mind, you may want to try journaling. Just making a list of everything on your mind can help you feel like you’ve addressed those issues enough to keep those thoughts from buzzing around when you’re trying to sleep.

4. Optimize your Eating, Drinking, and Exercise Habits for Sleep

Late night snacks and alcohol consumption can decrease your sleep quality and disrupt the natural release of sleep hormones. While exercise can improve your sleep quality and reduce the time needed to fall asleep, it also increases alertness, so it’s best to do earlier in the day.

• Don’t eat right before bed.
• Either a high carb meal four hours before bed or an overall low carb diet may be beneficial, depending on the type of food you’re used to.
• Don’t drink alcohol late at night.
• Make exercise a habit, but not right before bedtime.

5. Make your Bedroom Environment Relaxing

Are you someone who always sleeps better in hotels? If so, you may need a better mattress. Similarly, noise and light in the bedroom can impact your sleep.

• Minimize external noise and artificial light. Consider toning down or eliminating light from your alarm clock.
• Set your bedroom temperature to be comfortable and not too warm.

Bonus Tip! Transform Your Sleep with a Custom Mattress

Get a great custom mattress. Do your research and try several mattresses at a place like our showroom in Marysville, WA to see what works best for you.

At Slumber Ease, we specialize in custom mattresses to help you get good sleep. With over 50 years of experience, our expertise is unrivaled, so you can trust us to build the best mattress for your unique sleep needs.

See our Collection of Custom Mattresses