11 Calming Bedtime Tips to Help You Sleep Better and Longer
Sleep provides time for our bodies to recover, rebuild, and recharge.
This time is precious.
Yet, we tend to put sleep on the back burner, and we’re starting to feel the effects of it. The amount of sleep we get has been linked to emotional eating, cognitive behaviors, and sleep quality, to name a few. Quality sleep is important for our bodies to function at an optimal level. It also plays a key role in stress management, the female cycle, and overall performance.
Bottom line – we need to make sleep a priority.
The key is striking a balance between getting enough sleep and increasing the quality of our sleep. So, how do we do that? Let’s talk about a few ways to help improve your sleep, shall we?
Get a sleep schedule in place and stick to it
Even on the weekends. Restorative sleep is a cycle of 4- 5 stages that our bodies track through (NTA, 2019). When we short change our sleep, our body doesn’t get the chance to go through the restorative cycle 4- 5 times. It’s worth noting that the timing of sleep is important – stay up too late and the opportunity for physical recovery is vastly lowered. Forcing wakefulness before the cycle is complete sacrifices critical psychological renewal, according to the Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA, 2019).
A rule of thumb is to aim for 7-9 hours of sleep. Bonus if your bedtime is 10 pm or earlier to give your body the best chance of going through the full recovery cycle. It takes intentionality to figure out how much sleep you need and that amount may differ throughout the year, so play around with your bedtime until you find that sweet spot in the season that you’re in.
Get first light in the morning
Exposing yourself to first light helps balance your circadian rhythm by managing your wake and sleep hormones – cortisol and melatonin. Your wake hormones are increased and your sleep hormones are decreased, which helps manage your cortisol levels in the morning and melatonin levels in the evening.
Getting first light helps to regulate your metabolism and boost your energy and mood, too! That means getting out in the sun and breathing in fresh air once you wake up.
Make it a thing. Go for a walk, take the dog out, read, meditate, or stretch. Do what sounds good to you and what works with your lifestyle.
Reduce stimulants
Cutting back on caffeine, especially in the afternoon, can lead to better sleep at night. Reducing screen time at night can also lead to falling asleep more quickly because you’re reducing the stimulating effects of blue night at night. Our bodies are programmed to rise with the sun and wind down when it sets, so it makes sense to encourage softer lighting such as non-toxic candles, salt lamps, and orange/ red hues at night.
If you’re unable to avoid electronics at night, I recommend investing in blue light blocking glasses such as True Dark, BluBox, and Uvex (I currently wear this sexy pair at night). Blue light blocking glasses can help minimize cortisol spikes at night from blue light from your screens and lights in your home, mitigating the disruption of melatonin production so you can enter into a sleepy state when bedtime rolls around.
Sleep in a dark room
Tip – use blackout curtains or an eye mask. Sleeping in a completely dark room ensures your circadian rhythm isn’t disrupted by artificial lights and you fall asleep faster.
Turn down the temperature at night
Sleeping with a cooler temperature promotes deeper sleep. You don’t want it too chilly, though! Research has shown that setting your thermostat between 66- 68 º is an ideal temperature.
If you tend to have cold feet, which can be a result of an underactive thyroid or poor circulation, put some fuzzy socks on to warm them up so they don’t keep you from falling asleep. You can always yank those suckers off at any point during the night!
Unwind an hour or two before bed
Engaging in a bedtime routine that promotes a sense of calm will help your body to unwind + relax. Take a bath, wash your face, stretch, read, or apply some essential oils. Taking a bath or washing your face promotes blood flow + lymphatic drainage (flushing out toxins and stagnant fluid) and helps lower your body temperature, which is what you want.
Speaking of creating a calming bedtime routine to help you wind – I’ve got some creative + relaxing tips for you! It’s all about cultivating a routine that works for you + you crave. You are nurturing you, after all!
A bedtime routine prepares your body for bed by calming your nervous system as you shift into a parasympathetic (rest) state. Engaging in calming and restorative activities tells your mind + body that it’s time for bed. Once your body acknowledges this, you’ll notice your muscles start to loosen up, tension melt away, and calmer thoughts take over your tired mind.
Bedtime routines are a form of self-care and a beautiful, beautiful ritual to embrace.
Calming bedtime routine examples –
putting your PJs on before dinner
washing your face before bed
drinking tea/ warming beverage before bed
taking a bath
reading a book
massage or self-massage
writing in a gratitude journal
meditation
stretch/yoga before bed
apply or diffuse essential oils or non-toxic candle
deep breathing while you lay in bed
A calming bedtime routine shouldn’t be complicated or stressful. That’s not what we’re going for! Instead, do things that help you to get into relaxation mode so when it’s time for lights out, you’re saying “bring on the sweet dreams”. Bedtime routines are meant to promote peace and calm so you can more easily fall into a deep, restful sleep and stay asleep longer. That’s what we all want, isn’t it? To sleep more + better?
A note for those in a challenging season –
I realize that not every season is as forgiving when it comes to sleep, in particular, if you’re pregnant, a new mom, a shift worker, or someone with a lot of health issues that affect your sleep. Those seasons are much more challenging but they are temporary! Hold on, get as much sleep as you can, and ask for as much help as you need. Once you step out of that season, more sleep + quality sleep will be waiting for you to embrace.
Sleep isn’t elusive. As important as it is, we tend to elude it, instead, but your health depends on it! Sleep is needed for our bodies to function at an optimal level. It’s as simple as that.
Make sleep a priority in your life and start cultivating a bedtime routine that works for you, but be consistent with it. Soon enough, you will start to reap the incredible benefits of a good night’s sleep.
Craving simple + quick bedtime stretches for a deeper night’s sleep? I’ve got 4 for you. Grab your copy below!
In with your breath, out with the zzzz’s.
Sources
Chaput JP. Sleep patterns, diet quality and energy balance. Physiol Behav. 2014 Jul;134:86-91. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.09.006. Epub 2013 Sep 17. PMID: 24051052.
Dweck JS, Jenkins SM, Nolan LJ. The role of emotional eating and stress in the influence of short sleep on food consumption. Appetite. 2014 Jan;72:106-13. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2013.10.001. Epub 2013 Oct 19. PMID: 24148250.
Nutritional Therapy Association. (2019). Sleep, Stress, and Movement. Nutritional Therapy Association. Student Guide, 38-40.