9 Things To Do Before Bed For A Perfect & Healthy Sleep

Life is too short to be tired all the time. And you're too busy to spend one more minute in bed than you have to. The obvious solution to these realities is to maximize the quality of your sleep, squeezing as much rest and energy out of every hour in your bed as you can. Of course, there's no substitute for adequate sleep time, but healthy, successful people know that a few simple actions can ensure they wake up rested and ready to go. That's why they always do these things before they turn in for the night.

Stop Screen Time 2 Hours Before Bed

If you like to read before bed, that’s great… but make sure you’re reading a printed, paper book rather than your iPad or Kindle. When you read books on screens, you’ll have a more difficult time falling asleep, and your melatonin levels will be lower. You’ll likely sleep lightly, and wake up feeling groggy. Your concentration and alertness levels will be reduced, and your immune system will be affected. You might even find that you’re gaining weight more easily.

Skip Caffeine After 2 PM

Many of us depend on endless cups of coffee (or tea) to get through the day. The “3 p.m. slump” is a very real thing, where we go semi-comatose at work and knock back a double espresso to power us through ‘til 5. This creates a really crappy cycle in which we’re wired far later than we should be. This then causes us to get a less-than-adequate night’s sleep, thus requiring more caffeine the next day, etc. ad infinitum.

Do Gentle Evening Yoga

Gentle exercise can help you release some of the day’s stress and anxiety so you can wind down a bit more easily. We tense up over the course of the day, and that tension can keep us up at night, manifesting in joint and muscle pain. By doing some gentle stretches and slow, purposeful movement, we work that tension out of our bodies.

Make Aromatherapy Part Of Your Bedtime Ritual

Scents such as lavender and clary sage are known to relax people so they can get a better night’s sleep.Others may be adaptogenic, meaning that they’ll have different effects on different people. Ylang ylang and jasmine, for example, can either relax or energize people, depending on their unique body chemistry. Lavender in particular helps insomnia by lowering your blood pressure and calming anxiety.

Consider A Herbal Or Melatonin Supplement

The aforementioned chamomile can be a wonderful sleep aid, provided you’re not allergic to it. Tea made from it, or other calming herbs such as catnip, kava-kava, hops, or valerian, can help your body relax and wind down for sleep. Make a cup a couple of hours before bed, right around the time you turn off your phone. Be mindful as you drink it, and envision the soothing warmth slowly moving its way all around your body, relaxing you from toes to scalp.

Use The Washroom Right Before Bed

Waking up from a deep sleep because you have to pee is just awful. It interrupts your sleep cycle, and you might end up jolted fully awake by any number of things. Your dog might see your late-night fumblings as an opportunity to play, or you might step on a lego piece and hop around, swearing, before limping back to bed. Using the facilities just before going to bed decreases the chances that you’ll wake in the wee hours and not be able to get back to sleep.

Take A Hot Bath An Hour Before Bed

Although a deep, relaxing massage is ideal for winding down to sleep, a hot bath works just as well. Possibly even better. Immersing yourself in hot water relaxes your muscles and cocoons you in soft, nurturing warmth. Better still, cooling down from that bath gives your circadian rhythm the heads up that it’s time to get sleepy. That triggers us to drop into the slower mode we need to sleep properly, in which our heart and breathing rates slow down so we can pass into dreamland.

Make Your Bedroom A Perfect Sleepy Spot

Fill your bedroom with duvets, comfy pillows, blackout curtains… whatever you need to be as comfortable and relaxed as possible. Sleeping in a quiet space is absolutely vital. If you live in an urban environment where noise pollution from traffic keeps you up at night, consider investing in a white noise generator to block it out.

Stick To A Regular Sleep Schedule

Aim to train yourself to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. According to the Mayo clinic, the average adult does best with around 7 hours of sleep, so schedule sleepy time to correspond with whatever time you need to wake up to get the kids to school and/or yourself to work on time.