6 Expert Tips to Prepare You for Better Sleep Tonight

Many things can keep you up at night, from travel and excitement to health problems and stress. Some strategies can help you prepare for better rest.

1. Exercise daily

Jade Wu, PhD, certified sleep psychologist and Mattress Firm sleep consultant, told Verywell that regular physical activity and exercise not only promotes good health, but can also improve your sleep. It doesn’t have to be vigorous or long; even 30 minutes of light exercise during the day can help.

“Just moving your body throughout the day can even be helpful,” Wu said. “Exercising regularly improves sleep quality, and good sleep can also lead to better workouts.”

Exercising outside, in particular, gives you the opportunity to benefit from some natural light. This helps establish a proper sleep-wake cycle.

2. Avoid caffeine and large meals

To get a good night’s sleep, people should stop eating about two to three hours before bedtime, which would give the body plenty of time to digest, Wu said.

“When you eat foods high in sugar, carbs and caffeine shortly before bed, your metabolism is still working hard,” she said. “This keeps your body temperature higher than the ideal temperature for sleeping and can potentially trick your brain into not feeling the sleepiness it has built up.”

Eric Yeh, MD, a sleep medicine specialist at University Hospitals of Ohio and assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, also recommends avoiding caffeinated beverages before bed.

Drinking caffeinated beverages can make you sleep later, disrupt your sleep cycle, and negatively affect the quality of your sleep throughout the night. One study suggests that consuming caffeine three to six hours before bed can contribute to sleep disturbances and reduce a person’s total sleep time by an hour.

3. Limit distractions before bed

If you can’t fall asleep, Wu recommends getting rid of distractions to help you relax at night. For example, avoid using your phone or tablet to check email, read the news, or browse social media.

When you avoid phones and TVs at night, you also reduce your exposure to the blue light emitted by screens. Blue light is not only harmful to your eyes, but can also prevent the production of a hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle, melatonin.

“If you like to relax by using your devices or consuming media, try switching from watching TV and gaming to listening to a nice podcast or audiobook,” Wu said. “That way, you get less light stimulation and it’s easier to relax.”

4. Do something relaxing

Experts also recommend doing calming activities you enjoy before bed, such as taking a warm bath, reading a book, meditating, doing breathing exercises, writing about your day and your thoughts, or listening to calming music or audio stories.

According to Yeh, doing something you love and is Also calming can help relax your mind and body.

5. Create the right sleeping environment

To improve your sleep quality, Wu said you need to have a proper sleep environment. This means having a comfortable bed, enough blankets and pillows, and a quiet, dark, cool bedroom.

Your sleep environment and temperature are unique to you, but if you’re looking for a rough guideline, the National Sleep Foundation recommends a bedroom temperature of 60 to 67 degrees.

“Many factors, including bedding, clothing, ventilation, a partner’s body heat, as well as your own biology and age, all influence your ideal sleep environment, and the ideal temperature range is different depending on these factors,” Wu said. “Protect your sleep environment and use tools like earplugs, eye masks, or consider sleeping separately from your bed partner, human or animal. »

6. Change your mind

Experts say it’s important to adjust your mindset toward sleep. Going to bed shouldn’t be a burden or a chore.

“Going to bed shouldn’t be a chore, and falling asleep shouldn’t be a chore. Some people are conditioned to stay awake because they no longer enjoy sleeping,” says Rafael Pelayo, MD, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine and a sleep specialist at the Sleep Medicine Center. “It’s not just you to have go to sleep – it’s you get go to sleep. It is a privilege to have a place to sleep and you should take advantage of having a safe place to sleep.

How common are sleep disorders?

“Everyone will experience insomnia at some point in their life, and almost 20% of the population already suffers from insomnia,” said Yeah.

In fact, data has shown that sleep problems like insomnia affect 50 to 70 million people of all ages and socioeconomic statuses in the United States.

Why can’t you sleep

Pelayo told Verywell that many factors can affect your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep, such as:

• Stress, anxiety and overthinking
• Mental health problems, such as depression
• Physical health problems, such as heart problems or chronic pain
• Sleep problems
• Certain medications
• A poor sleeping environment, such as an uncomfortable mattress
• Lifestyle factors, such as a change in your work schedule or drinking coffee or soda before bed

“So many things can disrupt sleep, but the important news is that the vast majority of our patients improve and get better,” Pelayo said. “No matter how poorly you sleep, the truth is that you can improve.”

When to seek professional help

If you’re having trouble sleeping, Yeh recommends seeking help from a sleep specialist as soon as possible, especially since getting an appointment can take weeks or even months.

“I think the national average is about two months to see a sleep specialist, so it might be beneficial to call and get on the waiting list first,” he said.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, Yeh said you can first try the different recommendations, such as avoiding screens, caffeine and large meals before bed or engaging in calming activities such as meditation and journaling, then see a specialist if none of the changes have helped.

If you find something that works for you and notice an improvement in your sleep, you can always cancel your appointment with a specialist. You can also keep your appointment to request information on ways to make further improvements.

“The most important thing for someone who is having trouble sleeping is to talk to someone about it,” Pelayo said. “We are no longer in an era where there is nothing that can be done. Most sleep disorders can be improved and all of these sleep-related problems are treatable.”