- Go to bed at the same time and awake at the same time every day.
- Keep your bedroom as dark as possible. Use black out curtains. Cover electronic devices that have lights.
- Avoid stimulants after 1pm (or earlier) like coffee, tea, chocolate, and sugar.
- Avoid alcohol and cigarettes before bed. Alcohol interferes with deep sleep even if it can help with initially falling asleep.
- Exercise daily, but it’s best to do in the morning or mid-day, not right before bed.
- Take a hot bath or sauna before bed. Raising the body temperature slightly before bed can induce sleep.
- Drink a small cup of Sleepytime tea with dinner but stop the consumption of all liquids 2-3 hours before bedtime.
- Wear light socks to bed in the summer and heavy socks in the winter. Warm feet can promote good sleep.
- Develop a pre-bedtime routine to help calm your nervous system. For example, after brushing your teeth, then do some gentle stretching followed by a few minutes of meditation.
- Do restorative yoga poses before bed like legs up the wall pose.
- Use your bedroom for sleeping, sex, and recovering from illness only. Do not use it for work, worrying, or watching TV.
- Do a body scan meditation before bed or while you are trying to fall asleep.
- Get natural light exposure, especially first thing in the morning.
- Use a sound machine to block out disruptive noises.
- Make sure you consume protein for dinner as it will help stabilize blood sugars until morning. ProTip: if you wake up in the middle of night with your heart racing, it may signal a significant drop in blood sugar in which case, keep a small handful of almonds next to your bed to eat upon waking. This will help stabilize blood sugars and allow you to fall back to sleep.
- Keep your bedroom at a cool temperature but get into a nice warm bed. My favorite way to warm my bed (and ease a muscle ache) is to use this infrared jade heating pad.
