12 Natural Ways To Sleep Better At Night

Many of us like to browse social media or read a few articles online before going to sleep, but that bright screen can disrupt the production of melatonin, which affects your ability to fall and stay asleep. If you really need to do something to wind down before going to sleep, try reading a book or listening to some relaxing music.

For a good night's sleep, follow the old saying: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. Your energy for getting through the day comes from earlier meals, and unless you work the night shift, you probably don't need a lot of calories to sleep. Eating a lot before bed can spike your blood sugar levels and get your digestive system rumbling, which can make it hard to fall asleep. If your hunger is keeping you awake, try drinking a glass of ice water instead — you'd be surprised at how full you feel afterward!

If you're the type of person who likes to sleep with a nightlight or tends to doze off with a bedside lamp still on, you might want to get out of that habit. Sleeping in anything but complete darkness can disrupt melatonin production and disrupt your sleep. It's the same reason why we tend to wake up when light starts streaming in through the window in the morning. Keep a small flashlight or your phone by your bed at night if you frequently get up to use the restroom or check on a restless child, but if you want to get the best night's sleep possible, keep all other light out of your room.

A bit of alcohol before bed might make you nice and drowsy initially, but it can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night and make it hard to fall back asleep. If you're going to have a glass of wine, do it a few hours before you hit the hay so your body can process it while you're still awake.

Many of us use our beds as a comfy place to perform various tasks, including studying, working, and watching videos. However, we should really only be using our beds for one thing: sleeping. That way, when you put your head on your pillow at night, your body will know that this is the place you go when you need to rest.

A lot of people who smoke or chew tobacco do it for the rush that they get from nicotine. If you're doing it too close to bedtime, though, that same rush will prevent you from falling asleep. If you need another reason to quit altogether, the damage that smoking does to your lungs can cause problems such as sleep apnea and other respiratory problems that can wake you up once you drift off.

That cup of coffee or tea might be the perfect pick-me-up when you're drowsy in the morning or early afternoon, but if you're getting your caffeine fix in the evening or at night, you could really be causing trouble for your sleep cycle. Avoid energy drinks, coffee, tea, and chocolate if you want to get to sleep and stay asleep.

Exercise has countless benefits for your mind and body, and one of them is being able to fall and stay asleep at night. Aerobic exercise in particular has been proven to keep you more awake during the day when you need to be alert and focused, while enabling you to feel more tired at night. Try to exercise as early in the day as possible to get the maximum benefits at night.

Sleeping on a hot summer night with no air conditioning is one of the most difficult things to do. We all like to be nice and cozy when we sleep, but it's better if the air around us is more temperate while we're snuggled up under the blankets. If your room is too hot, you could keep yourself awake all night by tossing and turning and sweating.

You might want to take advantage of the weekend by sleeping in 'til noon and going to bed extra late, but doing so may hamper your ability to fall asleep during the rest of the week. Sticking to a fixed sleep schedule as best as you can will help your brain know when it's time to go to sleep and wake up. It might even eliminate your need for an alarm clock!

Sleeping with our partner, children, or pets might seem like a cozy idea, but it can disrupt your sleep pattern if your bed buddy moves around a lot or makes a lot of noise. Have a separate bed for your baby or pets, and if your partner's snoring keeps you awake at night, consider sleeping in separate rooms. Studies have shown that couples who don't sleep in the same bed might actually have happier relationships than those who do!

If you're going to splurge on one thing this year, make it a good mattress. Many people end up spending their nights wide awake because they can't get comfortable on a surface that is either too hard or too soft. When you go mattress shopping, spend a while comparing your options, and if your favorite one is a little out of your price range, get it anyway. Your mind and body will thank you for it for years to come.

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