Routine Familiarises Your Body With The Process of Falling Asleep
In addition to maintaining good air quality and minimizing light exposure, developing a bedtime routine can greatly improve your quality of sleep. This is because your body will recognize the familiar pattern of your routine, and prepare itself for sleep. This will both help you get to sleep faster and make your sleep more re-energising.
First, you should remove anything that might hinder you in achieving deep, restful sleep. Reducing screen-time from watching TV or looking at a computer screen is a good place to start. Combine this with limiting your caffeine and sugar intake to put your body in a more conducive state for sleep.
Also, you should try to resist eating shortly before bed. This allows your body to rest while you are sleeping, instead of being busy digesting food. However, going to bed hungry is equally disruptive as it can prevent you from falling asleep in the first place. The best course of action is to make sure you have eaten between 2 and 3 hours before bed. This way your body will have already done much of the digesting, and your hunger should be kept at bay.
Once you’ve eliminated those things which might negatively impact your sleep, you can start to build up your bedtime routine. Many people find that a warm bath or shower before bed can help them to relax, allowing them to drift off more easily. It can also help prevent your body temperature from dropping too low while you sleep, which could result in you waking up. However, some people find that a bath or shower can leave them too hot in bed, making them overheat. Therefore, it is essential that you don’t have your shower or bath too hot, and see if this method works for you before adopting it wholeheartedly.
Removing Mental Distractions Is Equally Important In Creating An Effective Bedtime Routine
Another important part of your bedtime routine should be focused on removing mental distractions. You don’t want to be laying in bed thinking instead of falling asleep. One way of doing this is to regularly read before bed. Reading can refocus your mind away from whatever is bothering you, calming yourself down so you’re ready to sleep. You could also try writing things down in a notepad or journal, giving your brain a rest from remembering things. This way your mind isn’t preoccupied worth trying to remember important information.
Some people also find that doing yoga or some mild stretches can help to relax your muscles and relieve tension. This lack of tension will remove pressure from your entire body, enabling you to get more comfortable and deeper sleep.
Other areas which can be incorporated into your routine are sounds and scents. Playing some soft music or neutral sounds, such as white noise, can block out noises which could disturb your sleep. The scent of lavender is popular for relaxing and putting you in a state ready for sleep. This can be used either as an oil which you apply to your pillow, or as a night cream, in a diffuser, or in a pillow containing actual lavender.
Regardless of how you build your bedtime routine, it is important to try and keep it consistent. It’s this consistency that will train your body to recognize that it is time to sleep. It is also very important to try and keep the time at which you go to sleep regular. This helps your body to get the right amount of sleep as each day and night will be similar in length. By keeping such a routine, your body will learn to provide you with enough energy to get you through the day.