Getting enough sleep is essential to your health, but not everyone is able to consistently prioritize sound sleep. Regardless of the specific source of your sleep disturbances, you might find that at the end of a long day, you lay down and are flooded with thoughts — concerns about the future, challenges from the past, and everything in between can make it difficult to turn off your brain. You’re not alone if this is a challenge you face in life, and there are strategies you can implement to improve your sleep routine.
If you struggle with your sleep, it’s important to work towards high-quality sleep over time. Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can improve your sleep routine. One of the most impactful things you could do is add hemp into your sleep routine. In this blog, we will go over small changes that can make a big difference in the quality of your sleep.
Limit Blue Light Exposure
First off, as tempting as it might be to stay up on your smartphone or tablet, it’s sabotaging your efforts to get more sleep. This is because of your internal clock, also known as your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm impacts your brain and hormones, and it helps to communicate with your body when it’s time to stay awake and when it’s time to go to sleep.
Being exposed to natural sunlight during the day helps to regulate the circadian rhythm, whereas exposing yourself to blue light from devices in the evening has the opposite effect. When you stay up late on your smartphone, it communicates to the brain that it’s time to stay awake. Therefore, it’s best to reduce your exposure to these devices at night. The best method is to stop using screens and turn off all bright lights two hours before bed, but you can also invest in glasses that block blue light.
Create a Restful Bedroom
The environment in which you sleep has a greater impact on the quality of your sleep than you might think. A good night’s sleep is dictated by so many different factors, and many of them are environmental. This is why creating a bedroom environment that supports sound sleep is important.
Many factors contribute to the sleep environment, including temperature, noise, lights, and even furniture arrangement. To create a bedroom that supports your sleep, focus on reducing outside noise and light first. You may benefit from a white noise machine if you live somewhere with a lot of traffic or other noise pollution. If you get a lot of natural light in your bedroom, you may benefit from black-out curtains.
Regardless of the specific interventions, turn your bedroom into an oasis that is quiet, clean, and relaxing to promote restful sleep.
Prioritize Relaxation
Getting ready for sleep starts way before bedtime. It’s best to have an evening routine that promotes relaxation. It makes sense — if you are wired right up until it’s time to sleep, your body hasn’t had sufficient time to decompress in order to relax enough to sleep.
Relaxation looks different for everyone, but some ideas include listening to calming music, reading a book, taking a hot bath, meditation or prayer, and aromatherapy. Whatever you decide, find something that works for you and incorporate it into your nightly routine.
Invest in Comfortable Bedding
Do you find you sleep better in hotels? This indicates that your bedding and/or mattress at home aren’t the right fit. It might surprise you to realize just how important bedding is for sleeping soundly. A bad mattress can cause back, neck, and shoulder pain.
While a mattress is a major financial investment, if you’re struggling to get enough sleep due to aches and pains, investing in a new one may be exactly what you need. What makes a good mattress is subjective, so make sure to test out several to see which is most comfortable for you. Even if you can’t afford a new mattress, just getting high-quality pillows can make a world of difference.
Be Consistent
Your circadian rhythm functions on a set schedule, aligned with the sunrise and sunset. Being consistent about when you wake up and when you go to sleep can make a huge difference in how you sleep. Irregular sleep patterns lead to poor sleep quality because they may contribute to reduced levels of melatonin, the sleep hormone, in your body. If you have difficulty sleeping, try being consistent with when you go to sleep and rise for several weeks. In general, this leads to being tired at the same time every night, and waking up at the same time without the aid of an alarm.
