You’re not the only one who spends your evenings lounging in front of the television or mindlessly browsing the web on your smartphone. But these aren’t the best ways to unwind if you want to get a good night’s sleep. The activities you engage in before you hit the hay can directly impact the quality of your sleep, so it’s important to choose your bedtime rituals wisely. Try one of these relaxing activities to sleep better tonight:
Clean Up
We get it. Cleaning is the last thing on our mind after a long day, too. But spending a little time tidying up around your home before going to bed can help you sleep soundly through the night. The sight of visual clutter - i.e. dirty dishes or piles of unread mail - can cause feelings of anxiety and stress. These feelings can make it difficult to focus and, more importantly, relax. Don’t let the anxiety and stress of visual clutter keep you awake at night. Straighten up before climbing under the covers so you can get a good night’s sleep.
Stay Out of the Bedroom
It’s best to avoid spending time in your bedroom during the evening hours. Find something to do in another area of your home, then retreat to the bedroom when you’re ready to get in bed and go to sleep. If you do this night after night, your brain will start to associate your bedroom with (you guessed it!) going to sleep. Your mind is a powerful thing. Once this association has been established, simply walking into your bedroom at night can make you start to feel drowsy.
Save the Stress For Morning
Say no to stressful activities in the hours before bedtime. Engaging in activities like paying bills or arguing with your significant other can severely impact the quality of your sleep. Save the stress for the morning. It’ll still be there.
Prepare For Morning
Some people toss and turn at night thinking about the long list of tasks they need to complete when they wake up. If this sounds familiar, try getting into the habit of preparing for the morning before you get into bed. Lay out the clothes you plan on wearing, pack your lunch, and create a to-do list in advance so you don’t have to rush in the morning. This will help you feel less stressed about tomorrow, making it easier for you to relax and fall asleep.
Take a Hot Bath
A hot bath might be the perfect way to induce sleep. The heat can help relax tense muscles, which will make your body feel more at ease. Sometimes simply relaxing tight muscles will be enough to help you gently drift to sleep. This isn’t the only reason why a hot bath is a good nighttime ritual. When you emerge from the bathtub, your skin temperature will be higher than the room. You’ll feel a bit of cool relief as your body temperature drops, which can be great feeling during the warm months of summer.
Read A Book
Turn off the television. Close your laptop. Put down your smartphone. Reading a book refocuses your attention on the words of the story so you can stop obsessing over the worries that keep you up at night. This shift can help calm your mind, which makes it easier to fall asleep.
This isn’t the only reason why reading is one of the best nighttime rituals. As you read, the muscles in your eyes will slowly start to tire from moving back and forth across the pages. Soon your eyelids will start to feel heavy. The fatigue in your eye muscles can make your entire body feel drowsy, so when you start to feel these sensations, close the book and head to bed.
It’s important to note that you should avoid reading off of a tablet or smartphone before bed. Technological devices emit a blue light that disrupts your body’s circadian rhythm and makes it harder to fall asleep. Avoid this problem by sticking to an actual book or an e-reader device with a screen that is designed to look similar to paper.
Try as many of these nighttime rituals as you’d like until you find the one that’s right for you. Also, don’t forget to incorporate Som Sleep into the nighttime ritual of your choice. Drink this sleep supplement about thirty minutes before bed so you can experience a night of restful, deep sleep.