5 Simple Self-Care Tips To Get Better Sleep
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Want to sleep better and get enough uninterrupted ZZZs every night? Me too! And here are 5 of my favorite tips and tricks that have helped me get better sleep – both quality- and quantity-wise.
I don’t know about you but I struggle every now and then with falling asleep at night. I watch tv in the evenings and usually, I do that until I go to bed. And even worse, I tend to look at my phone right before I go to bed.
So no wonder I feel a little restless and tired during the days. And with each passing night with way too little sleep, during the days I feel like I’m slowly turning into a zombie.
Does that sound familiar to you? Please don’t tell me I’m alone with this!
Of course, we both know that it’s critical to have a great sleep so that we can live a joyful life. But how can we ensure that we’ll get it?
I’ve added here 5 of my favorite self-care tips that you can implement to make sure you’re set for getting the best possible sleep.
1. Stay Stressless to sleep better: no emails, late phone calls, or serious conversations (aka fights) before going to bed
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made the mistake of “just checking” my email and then getting one that makes my brain active and I can’t, for the life of me, fall asleep even though how much I would try.
Does this ever happen to you?
Or if I have some serious conversation (aka fight, hahaha!) with my hubby. It’s crazy that if we do have one, he can easily fall asleep but then I’m tossing and turning in bed for hours!
So I’ve noticed that it’s better not to have those in the evenings because I’m the only one who suffers while he sleeps like a baby. So annoying.
And if you do fight, this old saying/advice is the key to good sleep: don’t go to bed angry. So try to solve it before it’s time to sleep. This might mean you need to give in a bit (which I hate, hahaha!) but you don’t want to jeopardize your sleep.
2. Use the “Night Mode” on your iPhone or Android… and use it the smart way
Your computer and phone might have a “night mode” that goes on automatically.
Night mode or night shift means that at a set time (on sunset) your screen turns yellow.
The previous studies have shown that the blue light might not be the best for your sleep but now there’s a new study is saying (first reported by the Guardian) that the yellow light is not optimal either.
So which one is it?
I’ve been using the yellow light on my computer for quite some time and I’ve set it to turn on about 1-2 hours before I need to go to bed.
Using your computer before going to bed or checking your phone is not the best idea anyway, so I like that this feature reminds me that it’s time to put the electronics away.
So test out which one works better for you.
Or do what I do and put your electronics away when that yellow light shows up.
How to adjust the Night Mode settings:
On iPhone (or Mac computer) you can find the Night Shift -feature by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift.
There, you can adjust the color temperature, customize your schedule or disable the feature.
And on Android, this feature is called Night Light. You can change the settings by going to Settings > Display > Night Light
3. Track your sleep with a sleep log
If you’re not sure if you get enough sleep, then you might like to take a few weeks or a month to track your sleep.
You don’t need any special apps or electronics to do this but a simple page in your planner or
I have a cute printable sleep log you can use. It’s an easy and visual way of getting an overall idea of whether you’re sleeping enough or not and whether it might be a good idea to try to go to be earlier.
You can grab it for free and learn more about the printable sleep tracker here >>> POST: How to track your sleep with a sleep log
4. Prioritize sleep: Schedule “bedtime”
After a long day of working hard, doing chores, cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and driving around, your brain needs some time to relax so your head won’t be spinning before you go to bed.
So if you KNOW when you should be going to bed it’s easier to know when you should put away your mobile, close the tv and/or computer and
If you need to wake up at 6 am, then you need to be catching those ZZZs around 10 or 11 pm. So to make sure you are falling asleep at the proper time, make a deal with yourself to put your phone and computer away an hour or two before that. Close the tv and grab a book if needed.
And if the sleep doesn’t come the first night, then try it again the next night. And if you keep a similar schedule also during the weekends, it might be even easier to train your brain to relax and fall asleep at night.
5. Make your bedroom extra inviting
This has worked wonders for me!
The moment I decluttered the bedroom, made it extra comfortable and cozy and purchased a few affordable products, which was when I started to sleep so much better.
So how can you create an inviting bedroom?
- Declutter, organize, or put away things that don’t help you sleep better.
- Make your bed every morning so you can’t wait to jump into it in the evenings.
- Buy THE best pillow (I absolutely love mine!)
- Have clean and super soft blankets and sheets
- Use a deep sleep pillow spray (my favorite secret trick for getting better sleep)
- Make sure your bedroom is dark enough
- Get a super comfy sleep mask to block the light
- Put on some soothing music – some meditative music or nature sounds
- Listen to an audiobook for 15 minutes – use a timer!
- Ditch the tv from your bedroom (I know, I know… I hate this too!)
RELATED POST: 10 tips to make your bedroom extra inviting
Bonus tips (aka the obvious ones) that can help you sleep better
These bonus tips are something you and I both already know, but I couldn’t leave them out.
Bonus tip #1: Exercise during the day… but not right before you should be going to bed
I know I should be exercising at least 20-30 minutes a day, but this is the one thing I always fall short of. And I know that if I would exercise regularly I would feel more tired in the evenings and fall asleep faster.
So if you struggle with this same issue, then I’ve noticed that even the smallest things matter. So what I try to do instead is to incorporate some walking during the day and some light stretching at home to make sure that I do at least something even though I don’t go to the gym or exercise otherwise. And my latest discovery has been a weighted hula hoop. It’s so much fun! And it doesn’t feel like exercising at all.
Bonus tip #2: No large meals at night. and no snacking in the bed
Boy, do I like large meals. I’m half-Italian and if I could I would eat a full-course dinner at 9 pm. But sleep is more important, so if I know I need to hit the bed at 10 pm, I try to eat way WAY earlier.
And whatever you do, don’t eat IN the bed.
I have to admit that sometimes I do this.
Not that I eat some steak and potatoes there but I do like to have some treats while I’m reading a book. And then when the night comes and I get to bed I already regret this…
Nothing’s more annoying than having crumbs in your bed… well, maybe a snoring partner.
But unfortunately, I have no tips to help with that. Maybe this Venyn anti-snoring nose vents will help. I can’t give any guarantees though.
So here are 5 simple self-care tips (plus a few obvious bonus ones) that can help you sleep better.
Try one and see how it goes. Stick to it for a few weeks so you’ll see if they work.
But if you’re ready to change your routines completely, definitely feel free to incorporate more than one of these immediately and see if you’ll start sleeping like a baby and waking up in the morning all refreshed!
And don’t forget to grab your printable sleep log and track your sleep! That way you know for sure if your sleeping routine has changed!
READ NEXT: How to use a sleep log to track your sleep + grab your free printable sleep log from the post
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