There are so many factors that can impact your sleep – and even more recommendations on what you should do to improve your sleep quality. And trust me, I tried many of them. Here are the bedtime habits for good sleep that really worked.
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Effective evening routines
Of course, what happens and what you do during the day can also impact your sleep quality (standard advice that is actually true: eat healthily and exercise regularly). This article will focus on things you can do in the evening to change tack after a hard day.
Writing Meditation – Empty your brain by writing down all your thoughts that cross your mind. Finish with three things that went well, or you are thankful for today.
Take a bath – To release tension from your body, you can take a hot bath with supplements like bath bombs.
Drinking tea – One of the best ways to calm down is drinking a hot cup of tea an hour before bed. Check out my other blog post to learn more about the effects of different herbs and find the one that would suit you the most:
Read More:
Best Teas to Calm Down
Face and body wellness – If you spend time treating your face and body, it can create an effect like after a spa appointment. Brush and floss your teeth, peel your face or use a face mask, put on a soothing cream, and use a hand mask when going to bed.
Stretching – Stretch your arms over your head, trying to reach the ceiling to release all the tension you built up over the day. Especially shoulders can get very tight. Loosen those muscles will feel great when lying down. You can also try a bit of relaxing yoga poses.
Power down – I was always a big fan of going to bed with my phone or tablet and browsing the internet. I used a blue light filter to not mess with my body’s sleep hormones, but that would not prevent my emotions from being triggered by what I read online. So this wasn’t healthy as I got upset by the news or angry about some opinions. Replacing the phone with a book helped distract the mind and drift away before falling asleep.
Gadgets to improve sleep quality
I love to improve my life quality with some nice tech gadgets. This is also possible when it comes to sleep. Many people might say you have to get rid of all electronic devices inside your bedroom, but that doesn’t work for everyone. Especially when you’re suffering from anxiety, distraction might be needed to fall asleep. For me, for example, it was impossible to fall asleep when it was very quiet. I needed noise. Otherwise, I’d get a panic attack from trying to tolerate silence.
Philips Wakeup Light
To fall asleep faster, this wake-up light (AL) has a special sleep mode. It simulates the sunset and provides nice ocean wave sounds. To wake up, it mimics the rising sun, and instead of a beeping alarm noise, it plays, i.e., birds‘ twittering or croaking of frogs. Connected with an app, you can check data like temperature, humidity, sound level, and more. Compare them over time to learn more about your sleep quality.
Muse Meditation Headset
What helped me calm down effectively was the meditation headband from MUSE (AL). It measures brain activity and provides real-time audio feedback. When you’re thoughts are racing, you can hear, i.e., a storm. When you calm down, you hear a nice environment, and birds land next to you. It is perfect for meditation training and by counting how many birds land per session you also have a gamification effect which is motivating for the next session.
Withings Sleep Analyzer
Maybe you have a smartwatch that can also track your sleep? But wearing a watch at night can be very uncomfortable. Withings made a mat that you put underneath your mattress: Withings Sleep Analyzer (AL). It’s connected to an app and provides a lot of data (incl. hints of sleep apnea) to analyze sleep quality.
What bedtime habits for good sleep will work for you?
This is the point where you need to put in a little bit of work. Each body is different, and every life situation is different. You’ll need to find out what works for your situation. How? Easy! You take one habit and try it for a week. Write down every morning how you feel and rate your sleep quality with a habit tracker. This will help you figure out which bedtime habits for good sleep will bring benefits to your evening routine.
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