Need Help to Sleep at Night? Here are Some of my Best Suggestions

This year was even tougher for my sleep, as I know was the case for many of us. Luckily, though, I found some things that helped and so in this short post, I thought I would share the best ways to help you sleep. Again, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are the ones that have helped me to sleep at night.  

1. Turning your phone 2 hours before bed: I know this can be hard, but, if you can, do step away from the phone, turn it off, put it on airplane mode or leave it in another room 1-2 hours before bed. Interacting on your phone, looking at notifications, emailing, swiping whichever way will only keep your mind switched on and engaged making it very hard to power down and relax.
2. Reducing light exposure: melatonin production is stimulated by a reduction in light to indicate to your body that it is time to relax ready for bed. This means you should try to emulate what is going on outside by dimming down the lights inside – switch from overhead lights to side lamps. Melatonin production is also suppressed by the blue light from devices which is another reason to limit or reduce screen time before bed. 
3. Getting natural light during the day: connected to the point before, if you sit in darkness during the day, your body clock ends up being equally confused. Sitting near a window during the day does in fact help you to sleep at night.
4. Exercising daily: I know that it can be hard to commit to doing exercise each day, and that actually the thought of exercise can cause a mild panic attack, but when I say exercise this does not need to be an hardcore, high intensity class or activity, just try to be active for at least 30 – 60 minutes a day. This could even be walking! The important thing is to have not been sedentary all day. If you do decide to do exercise, try to keep this to the day time as just before bed often wakes you up and makes it hard to fall asleep
5. Bathing before bed: the most important thing about a bath is that it relaxes you and gives you so much needed “me” time. If you don’t have a bath, pick another activity that you find calms you and creates a relaxing, quiet environment. Perhaps, meditation or reading a physical book?!
6. Taking a natural sleep supplement: this is not the same as a sleeping pill! So many of our body’s main functions happen during the night to rejuvenate us and replenish us for the following days. As such, just as we take supplements to help boost our daily effectiveness, I’d argue it’s actually more important for us to be doing this for the night. A natural sleep supplement, such as Paso’s Sleep Capsules, are designed with a blend of natural ingredients selected for their role in boosting our natural sleep processes either relaxing you to sleep or helping you have a more restorative sleep. 

Again, I’ve missed many other ideas so let me know in the comments below please share your number one tip to help to sleep at night.