Valentin Bosioc
If you use your bed for a lot of different activities, you’re not going to instinctively assume that the area is meant for you to fall asleep in.
It’s best to play your video games on your couch, eat your meal at your table, and then head to bed afterwards. That way, once you hit the hay, your brain will automatically recognize that it’s time for you to fall asleep.
SEE: What your sleeping position says about your love life
4. Don’t Exercise Before Bed
You’ve probably been told that a healthy exercise routine is important for a good sleep. This is true, but the timing of your exercise is just as important.
If you exercise right before bed, you’re going to stimulate your heart and your central nervous system to the point that it won’t be able to calm down before you go to bed.
5. Don’t Drink Coffee in The Evening
You’re probably familiar with the ‘crash’ that comes a couple hours after drinking coffee. Unfortunately for folks trying to get a good night’s sleep, this crash doesn’t mean that the coffee’s stimulatory effects have worn off.
You’ll feel lazy, but your central nervous system will still be stimulated. It’s best not to drink coffee within six hours of going to bed if you want to get a good sleep.
MUST READ: This Is Why You Should Sleep on Your Left Side (Backed by Science)
6. Keep The Lights Down
Melatonin, the compound we mentioned early, is naturally produced by your body in the dark. It’s your body’s natural response to the sun going down.
Artificial light, be it light bulbs, computer monitors, or televisions, interferes with this process. Melatonin deficiency is the root of a lot of sleep problems, and many of these can be resolved by simply avoiding lighted situations a few hours before beds.
Read a book in dim light for an hour before bed instead of scrolling Facebook before going to sleep.
7. Set an Alarm
It’s just as important for you to wake up on time as it is for you to go to sleep on time. Even if you’re able to eliminate light sources at night so your body can produce melatonin, you need to be wary of your waking times.
If you don’t follow a strict sleep-to-wake schedule, your body will develop an unhealthy sleep cycle. Sleep cycles are supposed to follow regular intervals, and if you don’t follow these cycles, you can offset the natural rest cycle. This could result in a constant state of fatigue caused by interrupted REM sleep.
8. Don’t Eat Just Before Bed
A lot of people adhere to the idea that eating a big meal before bed is a good idea. Trust us – it’s not. Eating right before bed means that you’re going to be expending a lot of energy digesting that food when you’re supposed to be sleeping.
This will lead to a lower quality of sleep and more interruptions in your rest during the night. If you want to utilize food as a sleep-aid, eat a meal that’s heavy in carbohydrates a few hours before bed. The carbohydrates will energize you for a couple hours, but once they wear off, you’ll probably find yourself becoming lethargic. This is the optimal time for you to sleep.
9. Relax!
To put it simply, it’s not that rare for people to have difficulty falling asleep. Sometimes this is because people dump themselves in bed after a stressful day at work, or after an argument with the family.
SEE: When You Skip Sleep, You Eat 300+ More Calories the Next Day, Study Finds
If you do this, the stressors that upset you during the evening are still going to be there when you try to fall asleep. It’s important to relax before bed. Meditate or read a book for half an hour, and you’ll find it much easier to fall asleep.
10. Keep Active
While it’s important not to exercise before bed, it’s just as important to exercise during the day. A lot of people struggle to fall asleep simply because they don’t do anything during the day.
It’s important to make sure that you exert enough energy during the day for your body to need sleep afterwards. Human beings are made to move, walk, talk, explore, and experience.
If you do none of these, then it’s no wonder that you’re not ready to fall asleep at the end of the day!
