Sleep has a profound positive impact on your physical and mental health, energy levels, well-being, fitness outcomes, work productivity, memory, and mood.
But, like most, you’ve probably struggled to sleep well or fall asleep in the evening. If so, read on because we are breaking down 5 effective tactics to fall asleep more easily and sleep through the night.
Let’s discuss.
1. Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
Most of us have the habit of staring at a screen, be it a phone, tablet, computer, or TV, before bed.
This is not good because the blue light emitted from a screen can impair melatonin production (the hormone that promotes relaxation and helps you fall asleep), making it more difficult to ‘turn off’ and fall asleep.
One of the best ways to fall asleep is to spend the last hour before bed doing relaxing activities like:
- Taking a bath or shower
- Reading a good book
- Stretching
- Meditating
- Writing the next day’s to-do list
- Doing some light exercise
That way, you don’t stimulate yourself as much, and falling asleep is easier.
2. Improve Your Sleep Environment
Most people look for tactics to improve their sleep but rarely consider the environment they sleep in (i.e., the bedroom).
Some ways to make your bedroom more sleep-friendly include:
- Get blackout curtains to achieve total darkness
- Keep the room cool (between 65 and 70°F)
- Invest in a quality mattress and pillow
When possible, keep your windows closed to limit outside noises.
3. Consider a CBD (Cannabidiol) Product
CBD is often praised for its benefits, but you’ve probably asked yourself, “Is CBD good for sleep?”
While the jury is still out on CBD for insomnia, we have a reasonable amount of evidence to suggest that supplementing with cannabidiol can support sleep.
Most notably, CBD can help you handle stress and promote relaxation, allowing you to feel more at ease come bedtime.
So, you can use CBD for sleep, whether to decrease sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep) or reduce the risk of waking up in the middle of the night and struggling to fall asleep again.
4. Avoid Caffeine In the Second Half of the Day
Do you often feel alert in the evening and wonder how to get sleepy? Consider this scenario:
You go to bed hoping to get a good night’s sleep… only to end up staring at the ceiling for what feels like an eternity. You toss and turn, then toss a bit more before you finally fall asleep, only to be woken up by your alarm a few hours later.
If that sounds familiar, caffeine may be the culprit. The reason is that caffeine has a half-life of about five hours. So, if you consume 200 mg in the afternoon, you may still have 100 mg coursing through your system at 10 PM, making it impossible to fall asleep.
The solution? Avoid caffeine in the second half of the day. More specifically, don’t consume any caffeine products within 8-10 hours of bedtime, just to be safe.
5. Reconsider the ‘Nightcap’
An alcoholic drink in the evening, also known as a nightcap, might seem like a good idea because alcohol reduces nervous system activity and may help you fall asleep.
The problem is that alcohol is linked to worse sleep quality, as it can reduce the amount of time you spend in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is crucial for optimal recovery.
Another benefit of skipping the nightcap is that you consume less liquids, which means you’re less likely to wake up in the middle of the night to urinate.
Conclusion
To conclude, mastering how to fall asleep quickly comes down to recognizing that you have an issue and combining several lifestyle changes. Each tactic can work on its own, but the true magic happens when you combine them.
You can also consider sleep aids, such as CBD gummies for sleep to help you feel more at ease in the evening.
