5 Tips to Improve Your Sleep

You may think a good night sleep is a luxury. However, it is a necessity for a strong immune system, mood balance, productivity, and good brain health, including memory and concentration.

If you’re having trouble sleeping at night, it might be time to look at your habits. Here are a few tips for how to improve your sleep hygiene:

Pay Attention to Your Daytime Habits

What you do throughout your day often has a direct impact on the quality of your sleep! Here are some pro-sleep habits that you can adopt during the day to improve your sleep at night:

• Exercise: In addition to being good for overall health, exercise adjusts energy levels and body temperature that is ideal for good sleep.
• Eat properly: Be mindful of your alcohol intake and eating large meals toward the end of the day. Both can disrupt restful sleep.
• Watch your caffeine intake: Be careful not to consume caffeine too late in the day. Caffeine can take six to eight hours to wear off, so it’s important to give your body time to metabolize your morning cup of coffee.

Soak Up the Sun

In the modern world, we rely on artificial light to power our day. However, we also need natural light to tell our bodies when it’s time to wake and rest. The best way to do that is to get at least 30 minutes of natural light each day. Go for a walk, eat lunch outside, or even set up your workspace on your porch for the morning.

Address Areas of Stress in Your Life

Stress is a normal part of everyday life, but too much stress can lead to insomnia. That is because stress produces a hormone called cortisol, which is what tells our body that we need to address a certain stressor.

To achieve better sleep and lower our stress, we need to lower our cortisol levels. You can do this by avoiding unnecessary stress or coping with stress in a healthy way. Winding down before bed is a great way to lower stress. Take a warm bath, read, and listen to soft music. Be sure to avoid screens at least two hours before bed.

Create a Sleep Friendly Bedroom

Creating a bedroom that is ideal for sleep is very important to getting good rest. Keep your room dark, comfortable, and at a cool 65 degrees. If you are bothered by outside or inside lights, blackout curtains and eye masks are helpful.

Sleep Like a Pro

The way you sleep is just as important as your habits surrounding sleep. You should aim for the same bedtime each night, ideally before midnight. Sleep before midnight is twice as effective as sleep after midnight.

If you happen to wake up in the middle of the night, don’t focus on getting back to sleep. Instead, just focus on relaxing. If you are awake for a while, it may help to read or try another relaxing activity.

Getting a good night’s rest is about setting up good habits, but it’s also about giving your body what it needs. If you are struggling with your sleep, we have high-quality physician- approved supplements to aid your cortisol rhythms and help you get better sleep.