How to Get More (Plus Higher Quality) Sleep
How many nights have you gone to bed early with the best intentions of getting a good night’s sleep?
How often is it that the first few hours of those nights are spent in a frustrated fit of tossing and turning?
Well, “forty-five percent of Americans say that poor or insufficient sleep affected their daily activities at least once in the past seven days,” according to the National Sleep Foundation’s inaugural Sleep Health Index.
Even among Americans who get within the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep, 35% report their sleep quality as “poor” or “only fair.” Twenty percent of Americans reported that they did not wake up feeling refreshed on any of the past seven days. And that is among those who actually got within the recommended guidelines for amount of sleep!
So, what can we do to improve both our sleep quality and quantity? A survey was conducted among the “top 100 sleepers” on a sleep tracking and recovery metric service (WHOOP), these are people who report getting adequate and restful sleep. Their average nightly “sleep performance” averaged out to a 96% Below are 45 tips from the 100 best sleepers of 2019 to help you get the ZZZs you need!
Sleep Hygiene Tips: Create an Ideal Sleep Environment
Deep breathing, a quiet, dark room and a weighted blanket.
Eye mask, ear plugs and sleeping on my own.
Blue light blocking glasses on by 8:30 pm.
Floating and binaural beats.
Get a great mattress/pillow that you always feel comfortable on!
I'm a side sleeper so I use an extra pillow to help ensure I'm 100% comfortable, invested in a contoured neck pillow for this same reason.
Using an eye mask in addition to using blackout blinds.
Fan in the background.
A VERY COLD room with a nice blanket.
Dark room empty bladder, peace and quiet.
Night Time Tips for Better Sleep: Behaviors and Activities
Winding down to lower my heart rate is key.
Taking a bath every single evening and putting my mind at ease.
Warm shower or heating pad before bed.
Making sure I leave enough time for sleep and to relax for at least an hour before bed.
I set a reminder for myself an hour before I want to go to bed, so I can start focusing on the things that help me get ready for quality sleep and helps me from staying up too late.
Of course, physical activity during the day creates the best sleep, however, knowing my sleep is monitored by WHOOP encourages me to go to bed earlier to ensure I get the amount of sleep I need.
Work out hard.
Stretch for 5 minutes right before bed.
I make a list of what to do the next day for my work/life responsibilities in-order to not stress about the next day.
Meditative breathing.
Meditation in-order to sleep. It is hard to explain, but I focus on images in random order in my mind until I lose focus then I fall asleep.
Do not spend extended time looking at screens. I can't cut it off completely as I still need to check my phone, but I don't start a show or movie after 9 pm.
Pre-Bed Tips for Insomnia: Lock in Your Routine
No matter what is happening, I make sure to get in the bed within the same timeframe every night (8:30 - 9:00 pm).
I always read before bed - whether it's 15 minutes or an hour, I find reading helps me wind down, keeps me off of my cell phone/electronic devices, and gives my brain an escape from the stress of my day.
Turning off television by 9pm and allowing myself an hour for my bedtime routine: shower, prep for next days activities, keeping bedroom cool and dark.
I start to wind down about an hour prior to my bedtime. I put on my pajamas, brush my teeth, wear blue light blocking glasses, and relax.
Put on relaxing music, lavender lotion, and grab a good book.
Don't stress yourself into sleeping, relax into it.
I make it a point to go to bed around the same time each day - moved up or down based on what my WHOOP tells me my sleep need is. I turn on the ceiling fan, make sure the room is pitch black, spray lavender on my pillow, spray a melatonin spray in my mouth and take several deep breaths once in bed. I also make sure my phone is on SILENT and screen faced down during the night. I'm lucky in that I work from home so I have no need for an alarm clock (which REALLY helps!) unless I'm coaching the Saturday morning classes.
There's no trick, but rather a culmination of good bedtime rituals (no blue light at least an hour before bedtime), gratitude journaling, reading, stretching.
Day Time Tips to Help You Sleep: Behaviors and Activities
Waking up naturally.
Daily routines to ensure my ability to go to bed early because I'm an early riser. My morning routine is always solid and doesn't change, so going to bed early ensures I maximize my time in bed and sleep quality.
Make sure I’m tired from physical exertion during the day.
Reducing stress in my life and prioritizing recovery.
Get up at least 3 hours before I go to work. I workout most days, clean my house, laundry, make my breakfast and lunch, watch some highlights, listen to music, glance at emails all by 7:45 am.
The WHOOP Sleep Coach! I use it almost every night to provide the motivation I need to get to bed on time. I workout in the morning before work. So I figure out what time I need to wake up to be in the shower when I need to, and then I use the Sleep Coach to determine when I need to get in bed.
Avoiding a nap in the afternoon or evening. Consistent bedtime and routine. Avoid alcohol through the week (and most weekends).
Supplement and Nutrition Tips: Dietary Ways to Sleep Better
Eat quality carbs before bed. Limit liquid consumption.
I take melatonin and ZMAs every night.
CBD+ recovery balm and LUSH sleepy lotion.
Hydration, book reading, chamomile tea.
Sometimes I will use a turmeric based tea before bed.
I get all my meal prep for the next day done, make sure I eat all my meals on time, and make sure I have the adequate time to wind down and stick to my bedtime routine stress free.
Comment below, or send us a message and let us know what you do on a nightly basis to get the sleep you need!