Do you find yourself having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep at night? A variety of factors interfere with our sleep cycle. Just as it interferes with nearly every aspect of our personal health, stress can disrupt your sleep.

For some of you, your job may require you to awaken at an hour so early it feels unnatural, forcing you to go to bed when you don't feel remotely tired. How do you train your body to go to sleep earlier and stay asleep?

Maybe you don’t have to go to bed super early, but you still find yourself having difficulties getting a restful night’s sleep. Before resorting to prescription or OTC sleep drugs, try setting up a proper routine starting an hour before bedtime.

Set a Specific Time For Going to Bed and Waking Up

Consistency is key regarding a restful night of sleep. If you are constantly going to bed and waking up at different times, you disrupt your sleep cycle, it’s far easier to wake up early in the morning if you go to bed at the same time on a nightly basis.

Establish a Bedtime Routine an Hour Before You Go to Sleep

To rest as deeply as possible, you need to prepare your body and your mind for sleep. Different routines will work for different people, so you might have to explore some different routines before settling on one that works for you.

No Booze Before Bedtime

Yes, this is a very disappointing tip, but that beer or glass of wine before bedtime can actually wreck your sleep. Although it could initially make you feel more tired, you may find yourself inconveniently waking up in the middle of the night.

According to Dr. Philip Gehrman, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, alcohol suppresses your rapid eye movement (REM) sleep cycles. Gehrman states that “the more we drink, the less REM we get.” Depriving yourself of REM sleep impacts your health negatively, affecting your learning and memory.

Dim the Lights

Refrain from using bright overhead lighting an hour before bedtime. Have you ever taken melatonin to help you sleep? Our body produces melatonin to help us fall asleep and stay asleep. That said, melatonin production is suppressed by exposure to bright lights.

We’re not suggesting that you sit in the dark for an hour before bedtime but instead use dimmer lighting from a lamp. If you have an alarm clock, try facing the clock away from your line of sight so that the lights will not affect your sleep.

Don’t Watch TV

Watching TV right before bedtime is quite common, but it can negatively impact your sleep cycle. Not only can bright lighting affect your sleep quality, but the blue light emitting from the TV screen can suppress your body’s melatonin production as well.

If you are watching particularly upsetting programs, such as the evening news or the latest Game of Thrones episode, they could prevent you from sleeping soundly. You can still relax by watching TV, just don’t do it an hour before bedtime.

Put Your Electronics Away

TVs aren’t the only devices that emit blue lights; laptops, tablets, and phone screens all expose us to these lights as well. Refrain from using these devices an hour before bedtime by keeping them out of the bedroom altogether. Not only do you want to halt your exposure to blue light, you also want to relax your mind. When you are responding to the constant notifications from emails, social media apps and text messages, you stimulate your brain. Instead, use this time for relaxation.

Take a Shower of Bath

Bathing early in the evening can help relax you prior to going to bed. It also raises your body temperature, which then cools down after bathing. As long as you have enough time to cool your body after bathing, bathing could help induce your body’s sleep cycles.

Put on Your Pajamas

Shed your day clothes and put on some pajamas to help get into sleep mode. When you wear your pj’s, your body and mind will know that it’s time to wind down and prepare for some shut-eye. Make sure that your pajamas are as comfortable as possible and made out of a breathable fabric such as cotton. This ensures that you are less likely to sweat during the night, which affects your sleep quality.

Don’t Eat Two Hours Before Bedtime

If you eat a few hours before bedtime, you may not rest as well because your body is digesting your food. Remember, the heavier the meal, the harder your body will have to work to digest it. Try eating dinner earlier in the evening.

Read or Write in a Journal

As you are relaxing in your pajamas, try reading a paper or hardback book (no ebooks) before bedtime. If you find your mind racing before going to sleep, you could benefit from writing your thoughts out on paper before going to sleep.

Stretch

Some people enjoy stretching before bedtime for its relaxing effects. Stretching helps shed some of the tension your muscles have been holding throughout the day, which feels wonderful.

Try some of these routines to improve your sleep patterns today. Improve your overall health by taking our online health supplements at Ameriden International today. We have a variety of different products in our health supplement store, including Rosavin® and The Original Olive Leaf Extract®. Shop our supplements for health today.