Don't you just hate those pesky nights when you can't fall asleep?
When you just toss and turn all night?
You're in luck, as I have some solutions for this problem, which I'll share with you in
today's video.
There are five things you should do every single night.
But before we begin, tell me, how long does it take you, to fall asleep?
Let me know in the comments below.
After I started using these methods, I now fall asleep in under 5 minutes, instead of
tossing and turning for 1 hour.
So let's jump right in to it.
1. Use your bed for sleep only
Lots of people like to browse their phones, play games or do work on their laptop while
in bed.
But it’s important to only use your bed for sleep.
This is because your brain can form a strong link between being in bed and being asleep.
Doing anything else in your bed but sleeping teaches your brain that your bed is for other
things as well.
If you use your bed to watch TV, your brain will start to associate your bed with that activity.
If you eat food in bed, your brain will connect it with hunger.
Guess what happens if you use your bed only for sleep.
That's right!
Your brain will start associating your bed with ONLY sleep and it will become a subconscious
habit to prepare you for the dreamworld.
This is why it's so important to stay away from your bed, if you're not planning on sleeping,
and only get in when you're ready for slumber.
With this tip alone I improved the rate at which I fall asleep by 30 minutes.
However it does take some time for your brain to make this shift, so it won't work overnight.
But if you stick with it, the payoff is huge.
2. Limit caffeine
Caffeine has its benefits, but it also has a downside.
For example, I love coffee.
It tastes great and I enjoy a cup every morning.
It gets me going and it’s perfectly fine to have it once or twice a day.
The problem is when you drink this caffeinated drink 6 times a day and the last cup is with
dinner at night.
Caffeine doesn't give you energy in a way most people believe.
What it actually does is, it blocks a neurotransmitter in your brain called "Adenosine".
This neurotransmitter is what signals your body that it's time to relax or go to sleep.
When you drink coffee and get that caffeine hit, it blocks the Adenosine receptors and
you don't feel as tired.
This means that even if your brain and body are tired, caffeine will still keep you wide awake.
Caffeine has a half-life of around 5 to 8 hours depending on your biochemical makeup.
Half-life essentially means that after a specific amount of time (in this case, 8 hours), half
of the substance is still active in your system.
So if you consumed 200 milligrams of caffeine (which is around one or two cups of coffee),
after eight hours you'd have 100 milligrams.
And after another 8 hours, 50 milligrams and so on..
This is why having caffeine even 6 hours before bedtime causes disturbances in your sleep.
What you should do is set a specific time in your day when you stop consuming caffeine
altogether.
This way you make sure your body has time to remove the majority of it from your system
before bedtime.
For most people, that's generally going to be before 2pm.
3. Go to sleep at the same time every night
You should head to bed around the same time every single day.
According to several studies, going to sleep on a regular schedule will cut down on the
amount of time you spend tossing and turning by a huge amount.
This is because you will naturally start feeling tired at the same time every night.
A sleep routine helps your body release hormones at the right time to make you feel sleepy
- specifically the sleep hormone called Melatonin, which regulates sleep and wakefulness.
If your schedule is inconsistent your Melatonin production gets all messed up and you won't
feel sleepy until late hours.
So I highly recommend you sit down and plan out a sleep schedule that you can maintain daily.
I for example always go to sleep around 10pm and rarely stay awake past that time.
My body is so accustomed to my sleep schedule, that I always feel sleepy around that hour
no matter what.
4. Calm your inner voices
When we’re stressed or overly worried, our minds race with thoughts instead of shutting
down at night, which leaves our brain hyperactive and we stay wide awake.
So you may want to look at what's going on in your life, that's giving you stress and
see if you can do something about that.
Nevertheless, this is where a relaxation technique comes in handy.
Whether it's a few yoga poses or meditation, engaging in a calming activity before bed
can help quiet your mind, so you can drift off to dreamland.
Personally if I'm super excited or stressed about something, I meditate for 15 minutes
and it always helps my mind to calm down.
If you don't know how to meditate I made a video explaining it, which you should check out.
If specific exercises aren’t your thing, try breathing deeply and slowly through your nose.
This is one of the ways athletes calm down before their performance.
5. Avoid the light
As I mentioned before, our sleep is highly tied with hormone Melatonin.
One of the ways this hormone is affected, is by the light that hits your skin and eyes.
Back in the days, sun was pretty much our only source of light.
Now the problem is that our body mistakes any kind of artificial light for sunlight.
This is why too much artificial light in the evening will negatively impact your Melatonin
production, making it much harder to fall asleep, since your body will think it's still
daytime.
We can combat this issue by avoiding any screen time and use weaker indoor lightning, at least
1 hour before bed.
That means no TV, no smart phones and no computer screens prior to sleep.
Now you might be thinking what the hell are you supposed to do for 1 hour before bed?
Personally I always read for at least half an hour, as it's one activity that always
relaxes me.
Some other good options are: solving puzzles or crosswords, journaling, sitting and listening
to music or just thinking.
None of these activities are as stimulating as browsing through your phone or watching
TV, so you'll find yourself feeling sleepy in no time.
Thank you so much for watching.
As I said, let me know in the comments below how long does it take you to fall asleep.
Then come back to this video a few weeks later and let me know if you can now fall asleep faster.
I hope you became better than yesterday.