How to Get Better Sleep
Sleep is always important. A good night’s sleep will set a positive tone for the day ahead and lead to better health. Here are five ways to get better sleep:
1. Use “Do Not Disturb”
Ideally a silenced phone would be best to ensure no notifications interrupt your rest, but with the “do not disturb” feature, you can allow certain people’s calls to go through in the event of an emergency. This is the perfect balance so you have peace of mind that you can be reached if necessary, but your emails will not wake you up as soon as you start to fall asleep.
2. Limit screen use before bed
It can be tempting to watch tv in bed or scroll through TikTok, but try to limit your screen time. There have been so many times I have planned to go to bed early and didn’t because I got caught in the rabbit hole of social media. If my room feels too quiet, then I use a white noise app. Even Spotify has podcasts of rainstorms or the beach that you can put on with a sleep timer to help you relax.
3. Set fewer alarms
I am guilty of setting twenty alarms for the morning. Though it is a tough habit to break, less is more when it comes to alarms. I end up with choppy sleep when too many alarms are set. Choppy sleep leads to feeling irritated in the morning and crawling out of bed on the pessimistic side. I have been working on limiting the alarms I set and have seen improvements to my mornings. Snoozing your alarm for “five more minutes” or rest just does not work when you have a new alarm going off in just three more minutes.
4. Read before bed
Reading is a good habit on its own, but reading before bed is ideal. This is a great way to wind down after a long day without using social media. Ideally this would be a physical book rather than an ebook so your eyes do not feel strained from the bright screen.
5. Stretch before bed
Stretching or light exercise before bed helps to relax your muscles and makes your bed look even more inviting. This does not need to be a long workout— just some light movement for even five minutes will do the trick.
I hope these tips helped!
ashleyohare 