“Without enough sleep, we all become tall two-year-olds.“
– JoJo Jensen
You’ve woken up and can’t get back to sleep.
Ah, been there. It’s a waking nightmare. Your alarm is set and ever approaching, a busy day ahead tomorrow and you just can’t get back to sleep…
So here’s my top 5 tips for getting back to sleep within 10 minutes. And no, it doesn’t involve counting sheep…
Tip 1: Clear your mind
“A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.”
– Charlotte Bronte
Thoughts racing around your head? Stressed out? Just can’t stop thinking?
To sleep effectively, your body and your mind need to be in a relaxed, calm state. Thoughts racing around your head activates your body and gets it ready for action. To sleep, you need to switch your thoughts off. In fact, thinking too much makes sleep next to impossible.
Your mind and body are connected and influence one another. One doesn’t sleep while the other is awake. So, what should you do?
When my mind is racing with thoughts, I have a simple solution that works every time: I go and get a pen and some paper and write down all of my immediate thoughts.
Anything that comes up, I write it out. It’s a mental release.
Doesn’t matter what comes up, I just pour it out onto paper.
In fact, anytime I’m stressing out, not just when I can’t get to sleep, I do this short exercise, and it brings me into a calmer, more relaxed state.
Tip 2: Do you need to go to the bathroom?
Pretty obvious and you’ve probably heard this one before but it’s near the top of my list because it works wonders…
A full bladder will keep you awake, and it’s worth just getting up out of bed and going to the bathroom. Trust me. Even if you think you don’t need to go, just get up and go to the bathroom anyway.
Tip 3: Are your feet too cold (or too hot)?
If going to the bathroom didn’t work for me, the next thing I check is my feet.
This has kept me awake on more than one occasion and my go-to cure is very simple: put on some socks and throw a blanket over my duvet, covering my lower legs and feet.
In Winter, I doze off in seconds when I do this. And I stay asleep the whole night long.
Don’t know why, but feet need to be at the right temperature for my head to quiet down and get into sleep mode.
You can always kick your socks off in the middle of the night if they start to overheat.
And if you don’t like wearing socks, try wearing slippers before bed, to warm your feet up before bed.
In summer, on very warm nights, my feet overheat. Now they require the opposite treatment. I grab a towel and wrap it around an icepack and lay my feet on top of it just to take the edge off the heat. I also get to sleep in seconds with this hack. Feet play a huge role in calming the body down.
Tip 4: Keep your bedroom temperature cool
While your feet should be warm, the room should be kept relatively cool. I recommend sleeping in a room that is a temperature of 60-67°F (15-20°C). Keeping your bedroom in this temperature range facilitates better sleep and with a good duvet, socks on my feet and a blanket, I doze off so fast.
Tip 5: Turn off mobile devices and leave them outside of your bedroom.
These days, with mobile devices and smart phones, we’re connected almost every waking hour of our lives.
Added to that, most of us also sleep with our mobile phones. The old excuse “well, it’s my alarm clock” seems practical, but it’s not healthy.
Our mobile devices emit electrical energy that interferes with our sleep patterns and should therefore be left outside the bedroom, or at the very least, on a cupboard at least five feet (1.5 meters) away from the bed.
I wouldn’t recommend placing it on your nightstand, as then it would be too close to your head.
It’s best to leave devices outside the bedroom altogether.
That way, you’ll create a sanctuary of relaxation and disconnection, so that your body can truly relax and fall sleep.
“Sweet dreams!”
