Five tips to fall asleep quicker and sleep better

Struggling to fall asleep at night and having a bad night’s sleep can impact our day immensely. Lack of sleep increases the likelihood of low mood and anxiety and makes it harder for us to motivate ourselves.

This article provides you with five simple but effective tips to help you fall asleep quicker and sleep better.

1. Combat your stress

When we’re feeling stressed, our brain creates more of the stress hormone, cortisol which can lead to insomnia. So, in order for us to get a better night’s sleep, we need to find ways to keep our stress levels low. Self-care, exercise, yoga socialising with friends and/or family, journaling, connecting with nature and meditation are all fantastic stress busters.

2. Turn off the devices before bed

Our devices emit blue light and too much blue light in the hour before bed can overstimulate our brains, reducing the melatonin which is the hormone needed to keep our sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythm) in check. This means too much blue light will cause us difficulty falling asleep and waking up the next day.

So, if you’re often finding yourself snoozing your alarm and feeling unrested and grumpy in the mornings, it might be an idea to consider your night-time routine. How much time are you spending scrolling before bedtime? Try putting the devices down for at least half an hour before you plan on going to sleep for two weeks and see if you notice a difference in your mornings.

An extra tip is to put your phone on silent in the evenings to avoid temptations and leave any other devices in another room.

3. Create a calm space for sleep

Ensure your sleeping environment is one you want to sleep in. Create a calm and comfortable space. Put your favourite blanket on your bed so your bed is inviting for you.

You could consider using scents if this is something that works for you. Scents such as lavender are well known to be helpful in creating a calming space for improving the quality of sleep. However, some people can become overstimulated by scents or have allergies so do be mindful of this.

Think about the environment in which you sleep; many people now work remotely since 2020 and have taken to working in all areas of their homes. Try to ensure your bedroom is a sacred space just for sleep so your mind can differentiate between the spaces in your home and you can truly begin to switch off when you enter your bedroom.

4. Dump diary

If you have things on your mind or, you find that you’re often waking in the middle of the night – try a dump diary.

Get a notebook, and fill it with all the things that are cluttering your mind, it doesn’t need to be neat, just dump it in the diary. Now it’s in there, it’s no longer in your head. Close the book and get some sleep. This can be done before going to sleep or during the middle of the night when you wake up.

5. Try to keep regular sleep hours

Going to sleep when you’re tired at night and trying to wake up at the same time every day will help you to get back into a regular sleep pattern.

Try not to be too rigid with this, and don’t beat yourself up if this seems impossible right now or if you don’t quite stick to the times for one day. Show yourself compassion and be kind to yourself. Focus on the other steps and the routine will gradually follow, being mindful of trying to stick to regular sleep hours can be enough for now.

If you can relate to anything I’ve shared and would like some support, feel free to contact me to learn more.