I am a firm believer that sleep is the most important thing we can do to improve our health. It’s not only my belief, but it’s also the belief of most top health experts. This is because, our hormones and hence metabolism, mood, diet, movement, performance and productivity, are all impacted by the quality of our sleep.
As someone who used to struggle with falling asleep for years, I am proud to say that I’ve perfected my sleep game with my sleep routines that I outline here.
However, I realize that there are times when you feel like you’ve done the routines and rituals and you still need some added support.
Well, I’ve got you. I’ve outlined my key sleep hacks to help you up your sleep game even further.
1. Morning Sunshine
Believe it or not, the morning sun, how much and when you get it, actually has a significant impact on your sleep.
Morning sunshine reinforces our circadian rhythm, which is our natural sleep/wake cycle. When we expose ourselves to morning sunshine when we wake up, it not only feels amazing in helping our brains and bodies wake up, but it also suppresses the natural production of melatonin.
This helps us keep our body’s wake and sleep cycles in line with the natural harmony of the sun rising and setting, supporting natural sleep cycles.
Drawing your blinds right when you wake is the best way to start this process and if possible, getting outside for some sunshine first thing. I love taking a morning walk, but since that’s not always ideal, perhaps stepping outside on your porch or patio as you have your tea or water, could also help.
2. Cool Climate
As bedtime approaches, our body temperature naturally drops, signaling that it’s time to slow down and get some rest. By keeping your bedroom cooler, you’re reinforcing your body’s natural instinct to sleep. If the room is too hot, it could potentially block that signal, inhibiting your ability to fall asleep.
Your body temperature rises in the night which can cause you to get hot and trigger you to wake up, disrupting your sleep. When the room isn’t cool enough for me to sleep, I often get up to go the bathroom, am thirsty or sweaty, all because the room wasn’t cool enough. Lowering the temperature always helps.
The ideal temperature is between 60 – 67 degrees fahrenheit. I usually keep it at 63 in our bedroom.
A really interesting fun fact I learned about sleeping in the cool, is that the cooler temperature also results in burning more calories! Win!
3. Blue light blocking
Video screens, phones and TV emit blue light, which has a color temperature, signaling our bodies to react like it’s bright daytime sunlight.
When our brains have been viewing the blue light from screens for hours on end, our body’s get the message that it’s time to be wide awake. When we get into bed, our bodies have difficulty falling asleep, even if we’ve been exhausted all day. Know the feeling?
The blue light signals the brain to think it’s still daytime despite the darkness outside affecting our ability to sleep.
Of course, having a digital bedtime is extremely important to health sleep hygiene, but other things you can do to reduce exposure to blue light is to wear blue light blocking glasses or download a blue light blocking app on your phone. You can also just turn on the night filter on your phone which blocks out the blue waves lengths before your eyes perceive them.
Doing anything to reduce the exposure to the blue light will help support your body’s circadian rhythm in staying in it’s natural flow.
4. Weighted Blanket
GAME CHANGER!
Guys, gravity blanket COMPLETELY changed my sleep for the better. I swear, the moment it goes on my body, I fall right into a slumber. It relaxes your mind and body and feels as if you’re being cuddled, but without feeling clostraphobic. I need my space when I sleep and feel super clostraphobic if I don’t have space, but at the same time, there’s something extremely settling about the weight of the blanket.
The way they work is by providing gentle stimulation to the pressure points that help in relaxing the nervous system, reducing cortisol production, and increasing serotonin levels. My theory is that it mimics the coziness of the womb that we have a primal need for, but without the headache of a person with stank breath or that’s moving around, or something.
I swear, the moment I put it on, I’m out. I wondered if I was alone in this and asked around and did research and no question, every single person that has one swears by it and has zero complaints.
I get super hot at night so I got the cooling one and it’s been amazing.
5. Black Out Eye Mask
Whenever I’m having a bit of extra difficulty falling asleep, I put on a black out eye mask and I’m out.
Having pitch darkness when you’re going to sleep helps signal your body into sleep mode, helping you fall into a slumber.
Depending on your preference and how much support you need, here are some awesome sleep mask suggestions.
Nodpod Bead Filled, Light Blocking, Sleep Mask & Eye Pillow
MZOO light blocking sleep mask with ear plugs
6. Red Light
As you’ve now seen, light plays a major role in your sleep cycle, more than most of us realize.
Red light is ideal for evenings because it has a lower color temperature. You can be immersed in red light at night without giving your body a jolt and altering your internal clock the way blue light does.
If you’ve been submersed in blue light and typically have trouble getting your body to transition into sleep mode at night, red light is the answer to your prayers.
Red light will help your body ease into it’s sleep cycle more naturally.
In addition to scientific studies proving that red light therapy being the only thing to naturally improve people with sleep orders, it’s also proven to drastically decrease the number of headaches.
Also, red light helps your body produce more natural melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep and wake cycle, helping you fall and stay asleep.
You can either change your lightbulbs in your bedroom to red lightbulbs or use a red light night light.
7. Reduce Dirty Electricity
For people who are highly sensitive, it has been shown that daily occupational Electromagnetic frequency exposure is associated with disturbances in Rem sleep and poor sleep quality (less deep sleep, etc.),
EMF exposure comes from our cell phones and our routers. What we can do is put our phones on airplane mode and put it as far away from ourselves as possible.
I usually put mine in my drawer which not only makes it not super close in proximity for me to be effected by the EMF rays, but knowing it’s not a hand grab away, allows me to fall asleep easier.
7. Sound
Just like the wrong sounds, like cars honking, dogs barking or a snoring partner can keep you up at night, calming sounds, such as the hum of the fan or calming waves, can help you drift off into a slumber.
White noise combines all noise frequencies to create a steady sound that drowns out other noises and helps keep you asleep. Just like we often have white noise makers for our children, it may not be a bad idea to get one for yourself, if you need a little help.
These sleep hacks have been key in supporting my sleep when I need the extra help and allows me to wake up refreshed and feeling good.
I highly recommend having healthy bedtime routines and rituals set up as the foundation to great sleep hygiene. Check out this post for the low down on that.
If you still need some more support, I outline my go to sleep supplements here.
Please let me know if this helps!
xx
Misha
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