Some thoughts and discussions from me.
10 Ways to Improve Quality of Sleep
We all know by now that it’s optimal to get between 7-9 hours of sleep. Studies and the media have told us a plethora of times just how important it is to go to bed at a decent hour to get our eight hours of sleep. OK fine; fair enough.
But then what happens when we do obey the rules, and we do get to bed by 9:00 or 10:00pm…and then we just lie there…and lie there…and lie there. We stare at the ceiling, count sheep, all the while willing ourselves to just. fall. asleep.
I had insomnia/sleep troubles from the time I was 20 up until last year around May – that’s 8 years of my life with poor sleep quality. It may have even been more than that, but before the age of 20, I was much more concerned about partying than I was sleep.
I can remember my senior year of college when I had an 8:00 speech class; I think I took a Tylenol pm every single night before that class in order to fall asleep. Then I remember my first job out of college –working in retail – walking around like a zombie from such poor sleep. Then when I got an office job, it was hard not to fall asleep around that 3:00 pm slump.
And the worst thing about it? All of the studies that tell us WHY and HOW not sleeping is so bad for us. Naturally, when we can’t sleep, we remember all the damage it’s doing to our bodies, and we end up stressing ourselves out even more, thusly making sleep a concept that is completely enigmatic at that moment.
Ha.
But now? It’s been almost a year, and my sleep has never, ever, ever in my life been so good. I wouldn’t call myself a profesh sleeper just yet – I can’t fall asleep at the drop of a hat. But the following 10 practices have given a good night sleep about 95% of the time. Please note that this list does include some studies backing up the practices, but I’ve written it anecdotally, as what’s worked for me 
1. Wake up with the sun.
Colorado has such pretty sunrises!
If it’s possible, let the sun that creeps through the curtains wake you up. Obviously, that’s not possible for a lot of people who have to get to work early in the morning. One solution could be to get a dawn-light alarm clock. Another way to wake up with the sun? Try and get 10-20 minutes of sun exposure as soon as you can after waking up. It tells the body that it’s morning, and it’s time to wake up, thusly setting your circadian rhythm off on the right foot.
2. Start the morning off with a relaxing routine.
I’ll tell you now: several of my points in this post have to do with reducing stress. When my stress is low, I sleep well. So, every morning before the hustle and bustle of getting, I start the day off on a relaxing note. Whether that means sipping some tea while reading a few blogs or reading devotions, or if I have several extra minutes, lighting some incense (I’m a believer!) and cuddling with Niko.
3. Eat a protein and fat-rich breakfast within 45, preferably 30 minutes of waking.
A study in the Journal of Circadian Rhythms found that eating a breakfast high in tryptophan, which is in meat, helps to improve sleep quality. High protein crepes, anyone? Along with that, I eat protein with every meal or snack, in order to keep my blood sugar stable throughout the day.
4. Get ish done when I’m the most motivated – in the morning. Having a daunting to-do list gives me so much unnecessary stress. I tend to be very easy on myself as to what I get done during the day, or else I feel stress right in the middle of my chest. In order to just flail through life not getting anything done, I make the most of my most productive time – the morning and mid-morning. I schedule most of my clients from 7-12, and if I don’t have clients, then I tend to clean, or work on the computer a lot during that timeframe.
5. Avoid electronics after 7:00 pm, or if you must be on the computer, download f.lux to make the light from the screen yellow, instead of blue. (Seriously – f.lux is awesome!)
Blue light has been shown to stimulate brain activity and suppress melatonin, a hormone that’s necessary for sleep. I notice that if I’m on my laptop up until bedtime, it’s much harder to ease into sleep.
6. Practice stress-reducing activities throughout the day.
One of my favorite things to do is take a mid-day walk. Every afternoon, I take Niko on a 45 minute loop around our neighborhood. It not only gets us out for some exercise, but it refreshes me and is my ideal way to keep stress at bay. Gotta love that vitamin D, too, which is critical for sleep in that a deficiency in it has been correlated with sleep disorders. Other of my favorites include deep breathing, a quickie yoga break, drinking tea, and lighting some incense.
7. Eat a carbohydrate-heavy dinner or nighttime snack. This doesn’t mean a dinner or chips or popcorn, but have some parsnips or sweet potato with your steak and asparagus. Studies have shown that eating a carb-rich meal before bed may increase our sleep quality. Anecdotally, I sleep much better when I eat #carbsafterdark.
8. Watch or read a show or book that doesn’t involve much thinking before heading to bed. If I watch a show, read an article, or read a book that leaves my brain spinning with thoughts, it’s a sure bet that those stimulating thoughts are going to keep me up for a while. I like to end the night with some fiction, rather than text-book like reads, or non-fiction.
my current book^
9. Take an epsom salt bath. It’s not only a calming ritual, but it’s rich in magnesium, as well.
10. Put up some black out curtains. We live in the downtown area of an urban community, so there are lights right outside our windows. Our first night here I knew that was going to be a problem, and purchased some black out curtains. Now it’s pitch black at night in our room!
I also want to point out that my sleep started being stellar just a month or so before I got my cycle back, and I don’t think this is a coincidence. I think all of the above practices are not only good for sleep, but also for stress, which I believe played a big part in my losing my cycle. It’s all connected!
*so as I was lying in bed this morning, I thought of a few more: no dogs in the bed, climb into a made bed every night, sleep in a clean, straightened room every night, wind down at night with a cup of tea, write down any thoughts on my mind in a notebook so I can leave them there, and for those rare nights when there’s a full moon and sleep just still eludes me…keep melatonin on hand 
Do you tend to sleep well?
What do you do that helps you get a good night’s sleep?
avoiding screens of all kinds is a big one for me. i have a baaad habit of watching tv before bed and falling asleep with it on. it really disrupts my sleep. flashing lights, hello, of course it would. drinking tea and reading a book helps me. and not eating close to bedtime!
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love all these! I’m making notes. However, babies don’t help the sleep schedule, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!
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I have no experience or advice on that category….but you can be sure I’ll be emailing you when that time comes 😉
Paige, these are some seriously excellent tips my friend!! Definitely making notes… I sleep pretty well but it could be better for sure.
Christa @ Edible Balance recently posted…My new favorite breakfast, just might become yours ~ {Recipe}
With the exception of a few seasons in my life, I sleep pretty well…and break almost all of these tips. 🙂 I think I must be lucky!
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I’ve had some pretty bad insomnia in the previous months due to stress and just THINKING about how much sleep I wanted, needed, SHOULD be getting…and all that just made it worse. Once I just gave it up and stopped fighting the insomnia, it went away. Sometimes, I still have trouble, but realizing that it’s not the end of the world if I get a bad night’s rest actually helped me.
All these tips are great! I’m kinda bad at turning my technology off at night, but I’ll work on it. (That’s what they all say, right? 😉 )
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves recently posted…WIAW: Blogger-Inspired Meals
I do some of these but no, I don’t sleep the best these days between age hormones & financial stress.. hoping for better times!
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I need to download f.lux! Thanks for these tips – I’ve been taking walks every day and am getting better sleep!
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Funny you mention that book in this post… I am a good sleeper [knock on wood!], but THAT book totally kept me up past my bedtime (which rarely happens, even with books I love!). Are you enjoying it?
I am! And I can see how you wouldn’t be able to put it down.
I am having some difficulty sleeping right now. I will be incorporating in some of these tips and see how these work. Some don’t fit into my schedule, but I’ll do with what I can. 🙂
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Interesting about the carbs before bed. I tend to eat fewer carbs in the evenings and then often get hungry at night (there is a far too much midnight snacking on almonds around here!)
Also, thank you for the link to f.lux! I’m always on my laptop/phone before bed (some habits are just too hard to break yet) and have heard about this but never got around to looking into it before.
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For me it’s also switching off technology or anything that makes light when I need to shut down. It helps.
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EEEEEKKKK…I NEED more sleep. I have a little one at home that I am trying to sleep train. I could really use some good quality sleep soon : )
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i’m usually a good sleeper…. when i workout in the morning or sometime during the day (not too close to bedtime), i sleep way better because i’m naturally more tired!
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If I could eat THAT breakfast every day, I would be one happy camper!! Holy smokes it looks so good! I try really, really hard to at least go to bed at the same time every night, and that seems to help. I would LOVE to be able to wake up at sunrise and go workout, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet 🙂
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I am definitely checking out that app! I have to say- the stress-reduction aspect is MUCH easier living out here. I definitely felt more stressed living back in the DC area- everyone was always so rushed and work and time-focused. It’s definitely a different way of life out here!!
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I needed this post! My sleep has been not-so-hot for the past few months and I’m going to try some of these tips to actually try to do something about it!
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