3. Yes, Water.
Now, you probably understand how a lack of hydration may affect you during your daily activities. But going to bed even mildly dehydrated can disrupt your sleep.
“Dehydration causes your mouth and nasal passages to become dry, setting you up for sleep-disruptive snoring and a parched throat and hoarseness in the morning.
A lack of pre-bed fluids can also lead to nocturnal leg cramps that may keep you awake. In addition to the frustration of fragmented sleep, being dehydrated during night can compromise your alertness, energy, and cognitive performance the following day.”
Thanks National Sleep Foundation!
4. Mind Dump.
Break out your journal and get all your stress, worry, and thoughts out of your head.
If you have a busy mind before bed, a good mind dump may support you in “laying your thoughts to rest”. See what I did there?
5.Move that body!
Did you really think you would get out of working out? A regular exercise routine can improve your sleep quality. According to Sleep Doctor “ Exercise can contribute to more sound and restful sleep. Physical activity increases time spent in deep sleep, the most physically restorative sleep phase. Deep sleep helps to boost immune function, support cardiac health, and control stress and anxiety.”
So… there!
6. Limit activities in bed.
I’m not talking about the activities the bed is made for like sleeping, or playing naked twister!
Things like studying, watching tv, or balancing your checkbook can increase alertness and make it difficult to fall asleep.
7. Wake up at the same time each day.
Let the training begin! It’s so easy to sleep in. I KNOW! I LOVE sleep. However, if you are find yourself tossing and turning getting up at the same time every day it will start to train your body to wake up at a consistent time.
One thing that helped me get back on track was scheduling a workout class for 6am. Paying for the class ahead of time kept me accountable. After all, I didn’t want to loose any money! And some how, that was way ore helpful than being ok looking sleep!
8. Eliminate alcohol and stimulants.
I knew you wouldn’t like this one… sorry, not sorry!
You know it, and I know it. Caffeine can last for several hours. It doesn’t just affect you in getting to sleep, it can also cause you to get up several times at night. Look my friend, this was a tough one for me, too. I LOVE my one cup in the morning. But it’s only until you get back on the Zzzz’s at Club Pillow. I know you can do this.
9. No Dinner Before Bed.
Eating a late dinner or snacking before going to bed can activate the digestive system and keep you up.
But since you already gave up the alcohol, this should be an easy one for you to adjust!
10. Ultimate Stress Buster!
This one… well, this one is really a post on it’s own. But if you really sat down with this, it will change your life forever…
For this one, I am going to ask you to take a closer look into a few potential root causes.
+ Do you like your job? Or do you want to be doing something else?
+ Are you happy in your relationship? Or, are you needing to have an important conversation about something?
+ What are your friendships like? Are you happy? Are you living in a constant state of stress and/or anxiety?
+ What are some things you can do to evolve away from these stressful situations? How can you empower yourself to sit down and have the difficult conversations?
You deserve to live a life you love.
You deserve to have loving relationships.
Where in your life can you start taking back your power?
Where in your negative thoughts can you turn to gratitude?
I’d love to hear if this has been helpful, or if you have any tips on how to get to sleep, or what you did to overcome insomnia. Lay it out for me in the comments below.
<3
Danielle
