Do you want to finally start getting a great night’s sleep? Use these tips and you can wake up tomorrow refreshed and brand new.
- Eat foods that encourage sleep. Greek yogurt with honey, tart cherries, nuts, and oatmeal are all great foods to lull you to sleep.
- Don’t nap during the day. Napping will throw off your sleep cycle and keep you from sleeping as deeply at night. If you need to re-energize, take a walk outside.
- Take a warm shower. Warm showers are relaxing to your muscles and are great for if you’re feeling stuffed up at night. The steam opens your sinuses, leaving your airways clear for sleep.
- Drink herbal tea. Teas with no caffeine are great for slowing your body down before bed. Chamomile tea is great for this.
- Be active all day. Exercise is great for this, of course, but so is doing errands, chores, even just walking around your house. Keeping your body active ensures that it’ll be tired when you lay down at the end of the day.
- Eat dinner early. Having dinner earlier means your body has some time to digest before you go to sleep. Eating a lighter dinner helps with this, too. The more earlier and easier to digest the better—you don’t want your body focusing on your digestion instead of your sleep.
- Chill out. Stress is one of those things that will keep you awake even if you’re doing everything else right. De-stressing at all times during your day will leave you less worried at night, which will make hitting the pillow that much easier. ##MN_RESP##
- Skip the midday coffee. If you know that your coffee break will make you that much more awake later in the day, skip it. The caffeine may still be in your system a few hours later.
- Stretch before bed. Like a warm shower, stretching before bed relaxes your muscles and your mind in order to prepare you for sleep.
