It’s time to talk 😴
We all likely know the difference between a good night sleep and a crappy night sleep. The increase in energy levels, better cognition, better mood – just generally able to be a better human. Unfortunately though, when we do get a great night’s sleep it can be tricky to actually repeat the process!
This is where sleep hygiene comes in. Sleep hygiene is defined as the environment and routines we have that set us up for either really good or really crappy sleep.
Here are my top 10 tips for good sleep hygiene and getting better sleep:
- Scheduled “Do Not Disturb” at a certain time each evening. Most modern smartphones have the ability for you to set it so that it automatically turns on a “do not disturb” function at the same time each night. Stopping all notifications from lighting up your phone and helping you stay off it before bed. I personally set mine from 9pm to 8am each morning.
- Try to go to bed at the same time each night. I know this one might be difficult depending on your work or home life situation but it’s important we prioritise it where possible. Counting back 8 hours from the time you need to get up in the morning to figure out what time you should go to bed is a simple but often overlooked step.
- Avoid looking at screens close up at least 30 mins before bed. This includes your phone, computers but TVs are usually ok. This one is huge for me and relates closely to the “do not disturb” feature point above. Not only do our eyes physically strain when looking at small backlit screens at night, our brains become so much more active and so require time to quieten down and relax in order to enable sleep.
- Bed is for sleeping (and maybe one other thing 😉) Try not to watch TV or read books for any length of time. This can help condition your body to know that laying in bed means it’s time to sleep.
- Avoid drinking too much water right before bed. Schedule some water targets throughout the day so that you’ve hit your daily target around dinner time. Small sips are fine between dinner and bed but try to avoid gulping down water – this includes cups of tea in bed too!
- Avoid caffeine in the evenings. Everyone’s individual tolerance to caffeine will be different so you’ll need to find what works best for you. I keep all caffeinated drinks to before 12pm as a general rule so I know it’ll be out of my system by my 9:30pm bed time.
- Setup the space right. Try to keep your room cool, dark and quiet to help not only get to sleep, but to also stay asleep longer.
- Consider your training schedule. Training late in the evening can make it difficult to wind down and get to sleep – if this is you, see if you can plan/adjust for this with a sleep-in the following morning.
- Try a magnesium supplement before bed. Magnesium is a great nervous system and muscle relaxant. This one can be a great tool if you train late at night!
- Try a short, simple meditation before bed to really wind down and quieten the mind. This can be as simple as 5 mins of 4:4:4:4 breathing – 4 secs in, 4 secs hold, 4 secs out, 4 secs hold. Or I highly recommend the HeadSpace app which has some great guided meditations and sleepcasts.
Hopefully these tips can help you get your best sleep yet!
