Even if you lie in bed for eight hours or more each night, poor quality sleep can still leave you feeling tired, irritable, or sore. Try adjusting the environment around your bed as well as your activities at night, you should see significant improvements. If your sleep is disturbed by loud snoring, chronic insomnia, or severe anxiety, the methods below can still help to some degree, but you may need to consult a doctor.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Creating a Comfortable Sleeping Environment
Step 1. Keep your room temperature cool but comfortable
Believe it or not, sleeping is much easier in a cold environment than in a smoldering room. Try to set the temperature of your bedroom between 15 - 19ºC. Personal choice also matters, but the ideal sleep temperature for most people falls within this range. Try it and maybe you will be surprised yourself.
Step 2. Reduce noise and light
If you wake up easily at night, wear earplugs and an eye patch to avoid stimuli that might wake you up. If the morning sun wakes you up, put up black curtains to block it out.
Step 3. Consider constant noise (white noise)
If noise at night is unavoidable, soothing background sounds can help disguise it. Try turning on a fan or putting on some soft, soothing music. If your room feels dry, a humidifier can solve these two problems at once.
Step 4. Choose a sleeping position
Choosing a sleeping position is especially important if you have back or neck pain, but positioning yourself and your pillow comfortably will benefit everyone. Try one of the positions below:
- Sleep on your side, with your knees bent slightly toward your chest. Place a pillow between your knees to keep your pelvis and spine straight.
- Sleep on your back only if your mattress provides a comfortable support. Try placing a pillow under your knees and/or under the crook of your back for added support.
- Sleeping on your stomach is not recommended, as it can cause breathing problems and neck pain. If you can only fall asleep in this position, sleep on the edge of a long pillow, so you can tilt your head slightly for airflow, but don't need to twist your neck.
Step 5. Try a few different pillow settings
Some people sleep without a pillow, while others like a big, soft pillow or two. Choose a pillow that ensures your neck and shoulders relax throughout the night. If you feel tense when you wake up, and can't find a suitable pillow, try rolling a towel and placing it under your neck for direct support.
If you can't find a comfortable position for your arms, try hugging a large pillow, rolled towel, or stuffed animal
Step 6. Use a thick blanket in cool to normal temperatures
A thicker blanket or cover can increase the feeling of security when falling asleep. Depending on personal preference and the weather, you may prefer a lighter blanket, a thicker, warmer blanket, or even a blanket that is specially weighted.
Step 7. Sleep comfortably in hot weather
Change your sleep settings when the weather gets hotter, especially if you wake up sweating or feeling rolled up in the sheets and blankets. If you usually sleep naked under a thick blanket, try sleeping in your pajamas under a light cloth blanket.
If you don't have air conditioning, dampen a cloth or tissue and hang it over your face and arms
Part 2 of 3: Relax Before Bed
Step 1. Use your bed only for sleeping
Work, play, and other activities should only be done at a desk or desk, if possible in another room, not in bed. Training yourself to associate your bed with sleep or a relaxing pre-bed activity can help trigger sleep more consistently.
Step 2. Have a bedtime ritual
Relaxing each night puts you in the right frame of mind for sleep, especially if you repeat the same ritual every time. If lying on your back in bed causes anxiety or fear, this is very important. Try the ideas below:
- Read a relaxing book.
- Listen to audiobook recordings, with your eyes closed. If this actually keeps you awake, listen to nature's sounds instead.
- Eat a snack if you tend to wake up in the middle of the night hungry, such as a glass of milk, a banana, or a small bowl of low-sugar cereal.
Step 3. Exercise
Exercise is a great idea, as long as you don't force yourself to exercise right before bed. Exhausting yourself to the point of extreme exhaustion won't result in restful sleep, but some form of physical activity is a must to help you stick to a daily sleep schedule.
Step 4. Close your day with a light meal
As mentioned above, your body's functions slow down when you fall asleep, including your metabolism. If you eat a heavy meal before bed, your already slowed metabolism can fill you up – or return to "active function" and produce unwanted energy.
Part 3 of 3: Preventing Restless Sleep
Step 1. Watch out for hot showers and exercise before bed
When the body transitions from active to resting, all functions slow down, and body temperature decreases. Raising the temperature with a hot shower or exercise session will slow down the process, making sleep more difficult. If you need to exercise to feel tired, or need a shower to feel good, do so early so you have at least thirty minutes to cool off before bed.
Step 2. Avoid almost all electronic devices
Your brain chemistry interprets blue light as an early dawn, which makes the brain more active. Phones, game consoles, and computers are sources of blue light, and other activities that involve mental effort can make sleep more difficult.
If you decide to use your computer at night, install Flux to turn your computer screen into a "sunset" red and pink hue
Step 3. Avoid vitamins, supplements, and stimulating foods
You may know that caffeine and sugar keep you awake, including the caffeine found in soda and chocolate. Other substances that also interfere with sleep are B vitamins, steroid medications for asthma, beta blockers, drugs containing opium, ginseng, and guarana. If you must take one of these supplements regularly at night, take it earlier.
- Do not change your medication schedule without consulting your doctor.
- Drinking more water can help speed up the chemical process in your body, but it can be counterproductive if you have to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.
Step 4. Avoid alcohol and cigarettes before bed
Stimuli from cigarettes or other tobacco sources can keep you awake or cause restless and anxious sleep. Advice about alcohol may seem more unusual, because alcohol can put you to sleep. But the rhythm of sleep after alcohol is very disturbed. Avoid alcohol in the two or three hours before bed, otherwise you'll wake up in the middle of the night, or wake up feeling tired in the morning.
Step 5. Take sleeping pills if needed
If you're having trouble sticking to a sleep schedule or can't get a good night's sleep, you can use melatonin to encourage good sleep habits. For severe insomnia, you may need sleeping pills prescribed by your doctor, but regular use can make you resistant and even dependent on drugs. Follow the doctor's instructions and if possible do not take medication to relieve this condition.
Step 6. Talk to your doctor about sleep apnea
This common condition characterized by snoring cuts off airflow to your lungs when you sleep, causing restless sleep or frequent awakenings. You are more likely to have apnea if you are overweight or have breathing problems. The doctor may recommend a "sleep lab", your sleep will be monitored to find out more about your condition.
Tips
- If you have chronic sleep problems, keep a sleep diary. Write down what you ate before bed, what you did in the last three or four hours, how you felt when you got into bed, and how you felt when you woke up. Compare your notes every few days to help find patterns, such as activities that keep you awake, or foods that cause restless sleep.
- Avoid drinking liquids containing caffeine, including hot chocolate, cola, tea and coffee.
- If you have frequent nightmares, try eating a piece of cheese or a spoonful of yogurt before bed.
Warning
- Place the fan running further out of arm's reach from the bed, to prevent your fingers or hair from getting in.
- Before turning on a fan or other source of "constant noise" overnight, read the safety label to see if there is a fire hazard.
