This Bed Time Routine Will Save Your Life

You have doubtlessly heard throughout life that sleep is important. It is. Very important. Sleep is the time during which your body repairs and resets itself. The body takes advantage of rest hours to create new hormones and enzymes, manage your metabolism, repair damaged tissues, and do just about everything else that keeps you in good health.

If you have a hard time sleeping, then you should take some time to develop a healthy and effective bed routine. Whether this means relaxing with natural supplements like CBD or creating a wholesome sleeping space is up to you.

We offer you a number of suggestions. Anyone wondering how to sleep better, whether they struggle with sleep disorders, stress, or too much caffeine, should follow the advice in this article.

Best Bed Routine Tips for Morning & Evening

Morning Tips

You might think of a bed routine as something that you should do at night. For the most part, you’re right. However, your morning is also important.

As far as the morning goes, the most important thing that you can do is make sure that you get up at the same time, every day. Even if it’s a weekend. Doing this helps dial your body into a natural circadian rhythm. This makes it easier to rise and fall in a cycle so that it becomes easier to get to sleep and wake up.

Other than that, your mornings are up to you. Here are a couple of tips to ensure that you get good sleep, though.

• Exercising is usually best done in the morning or early afternoon. Exercising uses up energy and makes it easier to fall into a deep sleep, but if you exercise too close to bedtime, you can actually amp up your cardiovascular system. This will make it harder to fall asleep.
• Drink any caffeinated beverages early in the morning or, at the latest, in the early afternoon. Drinking anything caffeinated beyond 4 PM is bound to cause difficulty with sleep.
• Try to eat your largest meal earlier in the day, preferably at lunch. The morning meal should be simple enough to kickstart your metabolism; evening meals should be small and simple as well. Eating too much at night will cause your metabolism to remain active while you should be sleeping. This can reduce the quality of your sleep.
• Avoid taking naps throughout the day unless you’re absolutely zonked. Short naps, called power naps, have actually been proven to enhance daytime cognitive function. However, longer naps can be harmful to your health and can reduce overall sleep quality.
  • If you are already a regular napper and have no problem getting to sleep then you probably don’t need to worry about this. The effects of napping can vary quite a bit from person to person.

Evening Tips

The evening is when you will really need to set your bed routine in motion. This is the most important time of day for you to develop a routine that will keep your sleep habits in good shape.

Avoid Blue Light

Our bodies are naturally primed, through thousands of years of evolution, to grow sleep when it gets dark out. When our skin detects an absence of light it triggers a response that produces more melatonin, a hormone that makes us sleepy.

Thus you should avoid any light (but especially blue light, which comes from computers and cell phones) for a couple of hours before bed. If this isn’t feasible, try to at least shut them off before lying down.

Meditate

Meditation is a great way to make sure that you’re relaxed enough to fall into a deep sleep. Meditation practices can vary but the majority of them involve some combination of breathwork, focus, or contemplation in a quiet environment.

The lack of physical and mental stimulation allows the nervous system to relax. This can be immensely useful for people struggling with sleep disorders like insomnia.

Create a Restful Environment

You want to make sure that your room actually promotes rest rather than hinders it. This means that you should ensure it’s not too bright, that it’s quiet, and that the temperature is adjusted to a level that is comfortable for you.

Follow Sleep-Healthy Eating Habits

If you want to get a good night’s sleep then you should avoid eating too late at night. If you do have to eat within a couple of hours before you go to bed, eat foods that promote sleep.

Heavy, protein-rich foods take a long time to digest and can impair your sleep quality. However, foods that contain tryptophan, or short-acting carbs, can actually leave you feeling ready for sleep.

Take Some Natural Supplements

If you struggle with sleep disorders or you’re simply wondering how to sleep better, one of the best things that you can do is take advantage of natural supplements. Nature has provided us with an abundance of natural medicines, many of which can be useful for encouraging sleep.

Valerian

Valerian root is regarded as one of the best natural supplements for getting rest. In fact, you can use valerian for anxiety or sleep. The herb works by influencing the GABA receptors, which are the same targeted by anti-anxiety drugs like benzodiazepines.

The dosage of valerian root for sleep will vary but most experts agree that you don’t need much. If using a standardized extract, then a capsule or two, equivalent to 300-600mg, should suffice. If you’re using fresh or dried herbs to make tea, a cup should be fine. (Hold your nose, though, valerian stinks!)

CBD

There have been many cases of people successfully using CBD for insomnia. CBD is one of the many cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant and it can be purchased online easily.

CBD is especially useful because it doesn’t cause intoxication in the same way that some of the other cannabinoids do. THC (the main, and most intoxicating, compound found in cannabis) does help some people with insomnia, but many others find that it produces a stimulating or psychedelic experience that isn’t conducive to sleep.

Most commercially-produced CBD is derived from agricultural hemp. Hemp is defined as a cannabis plant containing less than 0.3% THC, which means that these products are safe to consume by anyone hoping to avoid getting high.

CBD drops are the simplest and most effective way to use CBD. Simply take a few drops under your tongue and let the cannabinoid work its magic: you’ll be relaxed in no time.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone that our body produces naturally after daylight begins to fade. If you’re having trouble getting to sleep, it’s possible that you’re struggling to produce melatonin.

Even though commercial-grade melatonin is technically made in a lab, it’s still considered natural because it’s a synthetic version of a naturally-produced compound. Melatonin is safe and many people find it effective.

Go To Bed At The Same Time Every Night

Another thing that you should take care to do is fall asleep at the same time every night. This is just as important as it is to wake up at the same time every day. Again, this encourages your body to adapt to a rhythm. Do this for long enough and you’ll find that you’ll start getting sleepy around the same time without even trying.

Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol might give you the push that you need to fall asleep, but it actually wreaks havoc on your sleep quality. Avoid drinking alcohol if you want to fall into a state of deep, restorative sleep.

Relax Yourself

There are lots of different things that you can do in the evening to relax, clear your mind, and prepare yourself for sleep.

• As mentioned, you can take up meditation.
• Listen to relaxing classical or downtempo music.
• Read a non-stimulating book (something simple like a fiction story).
• Take a warm bath or shower.

Figure out the routine that works best for you and implement it as soon as you can.

Conclusion

Sleep is incredibly important, more so than many people are aware. Following the advice in this article and preparing an effective bed routine can help you get quality sleep on a daily basis.

Natural herbs and supplements like CBD and valerian can help with insomnia. So can healthy lifestyle choices like meditation and healthy eating. Good luck and happy sleeping!