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Tired of Counting Sheep? Top 10 Sleep Tricks That’ll Help You Get a Better Night’s Rest

Finding it hard to get to sleep at night?

Trying to improve your sleep quality?

If you suffer from insomnia or if you don’t feel well rested when you get up each morning, you may want to start changing some of your sleep habits. While you may feel that getting a good night’s sleep is out of your control, the truth is that there are a lot of ways to make it easier for you to get to sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

Below we’ll give you our top 10 sleep tricks that will help you start getting to sleep more easily so that you can always have a great night’s rest.

1. Get Your Priorities Straight

The first thing you need to remember when trying to improve your sleep is that you’ll need to make it a priority if you want to succeed. You need to commit to trying a few new things to improve your sleep and you need to refuse to give up too soon.

To consistently have a better night’s sleep you’ll need to follow through night after night and week after week to implement some changes to your habits. Remember to be patient and know that your sleep may not get better immediately. It will likely take a week or more before you truly start noticing a big difference.

2. Make Your Bed More Comfortable

One of the reasons you may have trouble sleeping at night because you have a bed that is not very comfortable. To have a better night’s sleep, it’s important that you have pillows, mattresses, blankets, and comforters that are soft and that feel great to lay on.

You’ll also want to choose a mattress topper that is high quality and will provide plenty of comfort at night. A bed that feels like hard cement is the enemy of good sleep, so make sure that your bed is as comfy and cozy as possible.

3. Minimize Light and Noise

In addition to having a comfortable bed, make sure that your bedroom is as comfortable as possible as well. Some of the biggest external factors that can contribute to having an uncomfortable room are lights and noise.

You may want to invest in some dark curtains to minimize light in your room or you may want to start using a sleeping mask. To block out noise while sleeping, you may want to invest in some earplugs.

4. Set a Schedule

One of the best ways to make your sleep quality better and to make it easier to get to sleep is to set a schedule and stick to it. Setting a schedule will help you train your body for when it’s time to sleep and will make it easier for your body to get used to.

You should set a time that you go to bed every night, ideally on both weekdays and weekends. It’s also important to wake up at the same time every day as well.  

5. Have a Sleep Routine

In addition to setting a schedule of when you go to sleep and wake up, it’s also important to have a good winddown routine each night. This routine may include a warm shower, some light reading, meditation, or something else that relaxes you and helps your body and mind slow down a bit.

Remember to stick to your routine each night and you’ll likely find that sinking into a deep sleep becomes much easier.

 

6. Watch Your Diet

To get better sleep at night, one of the best things that you can do is to simply improve your diet. Several foods can have an effect on your quality of sleep as can the timing of when you eat.

Having big meals before bed eating food that is too spicy before bed can both have a negative effect on your sleep. Drinking a lot of caffeine or alcohol during your day can also make it difficult to get to sleep when the time comes.

Make sure you take a look at your own diet and decide what you can do to improve it. A few changes may be all you need to start sleeping well again.

7. Try a Sleep Aid

While you’ll likely want to try some of the other suggestions on this list first, you may also want to try using sleeping pills if nothing else is working. Sleeping aides and medications can be a great help but make sure that you talk to your doctor first and that you understand the potential side effects.

One of the best types of sleep aids is melatonin pills. If you’re looking for help getting to sleep, you may want to learn more about melatonin now.

8. Get Moving

One of the best ways you can get to sleep more easily at night is to start exercising more. Having more physical activity throughout the day will ensure your body is tired and ready for relaxation when the nighttime comes around.

A lack of adequate exercise can lead to difficulty getting to sleep. Exercising regularly will allow you to get to sleep more easily and sleep more deeply as well.

9. Create a “Sleep Only” Zone

Another thing you can do to get to sleep more easily is to make your bedroom a “sleep only” zone. Make sure you set your bedroom aside for sleeping and avoid doing other activities there.

It’s a good idea to avoid watching TV or using your computer in your room because your mind will stay active you’ll get used to being awake in that room. By unwinding and doing other nighttime activities in your living room, or elsewhere in your home, your body will start expecting sleep when you make it into the bedroom.

10. Cut Out the Naps

If you typically have an afternoon nap each day, it may be the reason why you’re having poor sleep at night. If you nap during the day, you may be too well rested by bedtime and this may be why you’re not sleeping well.

Try reducing the number of naps you take during the week or take shorter naps. If you do, you may find that your sleep quality improves and you’re able to go straight to sleep when you get into bed at night.

Improving Your Sleep With These Sleep Tricks

If you’re trying to get a better night’s sleep, then you need to make sure that you try some of these sleep tricks. By putting some serious effort into improving your sleep habits, you’ll have a much better chance of getting the deep, comfortable sleep that you’ve been missing.

Are you tired all the time? Suffering from chronic exhaustion? Click here to see our tips for combatting fatigue and chronic exhaustion.

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