7 Ways I Help My Body Get A Better Night’s Sleep

I had always had trouble falling asleep, until I put a routine in place that helps. I have certainly not become one of those people that falls asleep the minute they hit the pillow but I do now fall into a deep slumber within minutes, which is so much better than the hours is use to take me.

If I don’t sleep well, I am not productive at all. In order to keep all the balls I am juggling I need my sleep. Here are 7 things I have found that help me not just get more sleep but sleep better

7 Ways I Help My Body Get A Better Night’s Sleep

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1. I wait until I am tired to go to bed

In winter especially I  think about how great it would be to curl under the covers with a good book, but for some reason this always messes with my body’s “time for sleep” signals and I fall asleep too early only to wake up three hours later wide awake and unable to get back to sleep.

I also notice if I stay up past being tired, I get a second burst of energy about an hour later and if I should push through tired to that one, sleep that night will not be happening.

2. I turn off screens about 1 hour before sleep

I am not perfect about this but I notice that I get a deeper sleep when I shut down my computer and read a real book and not one on my kindle paperwhite about 1 hour before bed.  Sometimes I break this rule to do some TV watching but I do notice that when I do I don’t sleep as well. I try my best to spend the last hour I am up curled up on the couch  reading in a room without TV.

3. I moved my mug of coffee to first thing in the morning

I use to have a cup of coffee mid afternoon as a wake me up, but I was noticing last year that  I wasn’t sleeping well (I was waking up periodically throughout the night), so I decided to switch my coffee to first thing in the morning and a mug of green tea in the early afternoon. Sure enough I started sleeping well again (age perhaps?).

4. I exercise almost daily

• my goal to run 1200 miles in 2015

I notice a big difference in my ability to fall sleep and stay asleep on the days I do exercise versus the days I don’t. So much so that I now try to at least fit a 30 minute walk in on my rest days from running and biking.

Of course timing is everything with workouts helping me sleep. If I work out too late in the day, they keep me up. For me I get my workout done by 5 pm at the latest.

5. I keep a gratitude journal

• My current gratitude journal:really a memory book but I use it for moments I am thankful for every day.
• A homemade gratitude journal that I used for years and costs only a dollar.

There is just something about writing down a few blessings before bed that takes your mind off your worries and allows you to drift into slumber peacefully.

6. I read a devotional

Right now I am reading Jesus Today, which is good but not as good as Jesus Is Calling which was my last years devotional. I find ending my day with a few words on the word keeps me from letting worries keep me up. (my morning devotion time is when I study God’s word in more depth)

7. I keep only magazines by the bed

• A few of my favorite magazines and how I get them for free

If I am still not quite ready to turn out the lights after writing in my gratitude journal and reading my devotional I might read an article or two of a magazine. I don’t allow myself to read books as I find that I am horrible about getting so caught up in the story that I read way way past being tired, and then never do sleep right.

Doing these 7 things over and over helps me get the rest I need to be productive day after day.

 Is there a tip you would add to my list that helps you get a better night sleep?

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