These are practical sleep tips that you can apply immediately to improve your sleep efficiency and quality. In short, sleep efficiency is the time you actually sleep versus the time you spend in bed. In other words; “The time in bed that you really use”. The time you use to let your body and mind recover so that you have enough energy the next day to be effective and productive!
Golden sleeping tips
In previous articles, you have already received many sleeping tips to sleep better. Things you can do, or things you shouldn’t do, such as snooze. A topic in itself that has already been extensively discussed in several articles. This article provides an overview of useful tips for sleeping better, both sleep tips from older articles and some new sleep tips.
They are all easy-to-apply sleep tips to improve your sleep efficiency and sleep quality (including how deeply you sleep). You can immediately apply them to improve your sleep quality, and therefore also your vitality and productivity!
25 Tips to Sleep Better
Tip 1: Provide clean air and sufficient ventilation in your bedroom. When all windows are closed, there is no longer any supply of fresh air (and therefore oxygen). Always leave a window open or slightly ajar.
Tip 2: Darken your room as much as possible. The darker the better. Light has a lot of influence on our sleep-wake rhythm. Light triggers the production of wake hormones. Especially in the summer when it gets light early, it is important to darken your room well so that you do not wake up too early.
Tip 3: Make sure you go to bed relaxed, you do this by relaxing enough in the evening. Try not to do any more active and/or exciting things for at least an hour before going to bed. The next two sleep tips can help with this.
Tip 4: Read! I was never much of a reader myself until I discovered its calming power. Now I read almost every night for half an hour before going to sleep. Avoid heavy and/or too dramatic material that keeps haunting your head.
Tip 5: Meditation is a good tool to completely clear your head and relax. An easily applicable way of meditating is to focus entirely on your breathing. Try to consciously focus on your breathing and not think about other things.
Tip 6: An active lifestyle, for example by exercising enough during the day, promotes a good night’s sleep. It is best not to exercise right before going to bed or be very active in any other way (about 2 to 3 hours before going to sleep).
Tip 7: Do not leave the heating on at night. A cool temperature (not too cold) is best for sleeping well. Your body temperature drops while you sleep. If it is too hot, your body will cool down less quickly and if it is too cold, your body also wants to correct this. This allows you to sleep lighter and wake up faster.
Tip 8: Make sure you are sufficiently exposed to daylight during the day, and that you limit artificial light in the evening. Dim your lights about an hour before going to sleep to promote the body ‘s production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
Nowadays there are also smart glasses available that filter the blue light from screens. Wearing such filter glasses (or computer glasses ) in the evening helps to ensure that the production of melatonin is not disturbed. I tested filter glasses myself and wrote a review about them.
Daylight has a lot of influence on your sleep quality. So don’t go avoiding the sun too much. Soak in some sun and sleep like a baby.
Tip 9: Your sleep rhythm also has a lot of influence on your sleep quality. Go to bed at (reasonably) set times and get up at set times. Do not deviate too much from this at the weekend, because that can disrupt your sleep-wake rhythm. This is also the reason that we often sleep worse on Sundays.
Tip 10: Be careful with power naps and siestas, there is a risk that these will make you more tired because you do not get into a deep sleep well and/or long enough to really recover. It also disrupts your sleep-wake rhythm. In countries where a siesta is normal, this will probably be different, here it is part of a normal sleep-wake rhythm or sleeps pattern (= your own assumption). However, power naps can sometimes help with daytime fatigue. Make sure you know what you are doing and first thoroughly immerse yourself in the power nap. We don’t live in Spain.
Tip 11: Try not to lie awake in bed for too long. If you really can’t sleep, it’s better to get out of bed to do something relaxing so that you fall asleep more easily afterward. It is of course best to ensure that you go to bed completely relaxed by, for example, reading, meditating, or practicing yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is a simple technique from yoga to achieve deep relaxation. Do this just before going to bed and you will sleep better and more deeply and wake up rested.
Tip 12: A fixed evening ritual helps you fall asleep better. If you maintain a fixed pattern in the evening, eg an hour before going to bed, your body and subconscious will at some point (subconsciously) recognize this. Your body and mind will receive “signals” that it is almost time to go to sleep, and will “get ready” by producing sleep hormones.
Tip 13: Turn off electronic devices as much as possible. Think of computers, cordless telephones, and mobiles, your modem, etc. The electrical waves that these devices emit could have a lot of influence on our sleep. There is much debate about the influence and possible harmful effects of radiation and electric waves on health. This is also often referred to as a disturbed night’s sleep. There doesn’t seem to be any hard evidence yet, but the fact is that there is a lot of research, stories, experiences, and coincidences that indicate that it is not entirely good to be exposed to it all day and night. In any case, I try to take this into account and will also recommend it to you. In any case, it can’t hurt to turn them off
Tip 14: Try (all day) to learn good breathing habits and possibly do breathing exercises before going to sleep. Also here is Yoga Nidra provides a solution.
Tip 15: Don’t eat heavy meals a few hours before going to bed. If your body is still busy digesting your food, this can keep you awake. You can read more about this in the article ” Poor sleep due to choice of food ”.
Tip 16: Drink herbal tea before going to sleep. Not regular tea (and certainly not coffee) that contains theine/ caffeine. This is actually stimulating and keeps you awake! Also do not drink too much tea in connection with having to urinate at night.
Tip 17: Try not to drink too much caffeine during the day. Limit your coffee consumption to 2 to 3 cups per day. It is also best to stop drinking coffee as early as possible. I don’t drink coffee after 4 pm myself.
Tip 18: Some foods promote the production of melatonin (sleep hormone). Examples include milk and bananas. It is therefore no myth that a cup of warm milk before going to bed is good for sleep!
Tip 19: Stop snoozing! Yes, here he comes again with his snooze, I know. I won’t say another word about it. If you haven’t read the previous articles about snoozing, I recommend that you do.
Tip 20: A warm shower, or better yet a warm bath in the evening helps you to relax and sleep well.
Tip 21: A plant in your room is great, but not too much! Too many plants in your bedroom keep your mind active.
Tip 22: Make sure it is quiet in your bedroom. As far as possible then. This may sound logical, but there are plenty of people who, for example, sleep with their TV on! Not smart, it can keep you from falling into a deep sleep, plus you wake up quickly when you fall into a light sleep. Light and deep sleep alternate so this happens several times a night, you can read how this works exactly in the article about how the sleep cycle works. Do you sleep with your TV on?
Tip 23: Smoking and alcohol are bad for your sleep quality. Alcohol may make you fall asleep more easily, but it makes you sleep less deeply and wake up faster. (regardless of the state in which you wake up in the morning). Smoking also has a negative effect on sleep quality. Quitting is often easier said than done. If necessary, do this with the help of a special program. Online resources have already given many people that extra push to successfully step out of smoking addiction. Step out and thank me later.
Tip 24: I am very happy with an alarm clock application for my mobile called Sleep Cycle. This does not wake you at a fixed time but takes a small margin (to be determined yourself, eg between 6:40 and 7:00) to wake you up when you are in a light sleep. (The app can determine that by analyzing your movement). You wake up much better and more pleasant from a light sleep. The biggest disadvantage of this is that you have to sleep with your cell phone next to your head. I then put my mobile on airplane mode to limit possible electronic waves/wifi radiation.
Tip 25: Invest in a comfortable sleeping system. Provide a good bed, mattress, duvet, pillow, and bedding. To sleep well you have to lie comfortably! With bedding, pay attention to the material it is made of. Duvet covers made of cotton ventilate are better than covers made of polyester. The same goes for duvets and pillows. Natural products breathe better than synthetic duvets, which can feel a bit sweltering. It is, therefore, better to choose a woolen or down duvet. There is a lot of difference in properties with both duvets and pillows and you will have to find out what is suitable for you. This also applies to mattresses. There are many types of mattresses and it differs per person what it must meet. Which mattress is best for you depends on many factors. For example, think of physique, weight, and sleeping position.
And finally, one of the most important sleeping tips: Get enough sleep! Yes, an open door, but of course you have to make sure you get enough sleep. If you are completely broken every morning (and during the day), then you are not sleeping enough or not well enough! Then it is really important to either go to bed earlier OR improve your sleep quality by applying the above sleep tips.
Realize a Good Night’s Sleep
Of course, you don’t have to immediately apply all 25 sleeping tips (it is allowed) to achieve a good night’s sleep. Find a few that appeal to you and don’t be reluctant to do so. I do quite a lot of the above tips myself, but I really don’t do them all. I hope you found it a fun and useful article, and that it helps you sleep better!
Now You Know
Getting enough sleep is a prerequisite for getting more done in the day. You can wake up feeling like you have been plowing the ground all night or you can wake up like a strong baby. Sleep debt has been responsible for many health-related diseases these days and you should do well to avoid that. So now. That you have found some way to improve your sleeping pattern, don’t be like those doubting Thomases, apply some of them, and enjoy better sleep patterns today.
