5 Tips for Better Sleep Routines

Keep a sleep schedule

It's important to keep a sleep schedule and go to bed around the same time every night. When you keep a regular sleep schedule your body knows that it is time to start the rejuvenation process. Your natural awake and sleep cycle is a habit that your body is accustomed to, and changing it can be a difficult and sometimes harmful transition.

Don't eat right before bed

When you consume food or beverages right before bed, your body does what it is supposed to do, which is divert blood flow to your stomach and digestive system to incorporate those nutrients into your body. Allowing for at least 1-hour of time to digest before going to bed will help your body metabolize the nutrients and help you fall asleep easier.

Take a hot bath or shower

Taking a hot bath or shower right before bed can relax the muscles and open capillaries to allow better blood flow. It provides a soothing effect that calms nerves and signals that it is time to rest. Using bath salts such as Lavender can also have a soothing effect and cause you to feel more tired.

Use an eye mask or darken the room

Light signals the body to not secret Melatonin which is the natural chemical in the body that causes people to feel tired and begin the sleep process. Using an eye mask to block out light, or darkening the room using blackout shades can help the body to secret more Melatonin and make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep even if the sun comes up before it is time to wake.

Try soft soothing music or a sound machine

Our brains are busy all day long processing tremendous amounts of information, so it's not always easy to turn them off. Using music or a sound machine that generates soothing sounds can allow the mind a moment of peaceful distraction which is often an segway into sleep. Deep relaxing music can slow the heartbeat and lead to falling asleep much faster.