According to a Better Sleep Council survey conducted just last year, almost half of the adults questioned reported that they didn’t get adequate sleep. Furthermore, approximately one-third indicated that getting just one hour of additional sleep “was worth $100 or more.” If you are one of the sleep-deprived members of our society, then you can probably relate and would likely be willing to write a check for a lot more if it meant being able to sleep restfully. What is robbing you of your ability to get and stay asleep? The Mayo Clinic reports a variety of possible insomnia causes, but the very first two that they list on their website are stress and anxiety—two emotions that small business owners know all too well. When you’re your own boss and entirely responsible for your success or failure, it can make you feel both of these things, leaving you lying there wide awake when you’d love nothing more than to close your eyes and drift off to peaceful dreams.
However, despite the fact that you have a lot on your mind, this doesn’t mean that you can’t improve the length and quality of your sleep time. In fact, here are 24 easy to implement ways to help you get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer:
- Right after dinner, write out a to-do list for the next day so that you can get these items off your mind, preventing it from running through these things over and over again in order to not forget them
- Drink tart cherry juice as one study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food reports that this beverage can oftentimes help improve sleep
- If the insomnia is due to medications you are taking, see if there are alternatives that don’t have this as a negative side effect
- Wake up and go to bed the same time every day – even on weekends
- Get more fresh air as you tend to sleep better at night when you spend some time outside during the day
- Darken your bedroom as much as possible by using darkening curtains, turning off all night lights, and turning your alarm clock’s display away from you (which also stops you from watching the time and calculating how much sleep you’ll get if you could just fall asleep right now)
- Take the time to de-stress regularly by engaging in activities you enjoy
- Limit alcohol to one or two glasses as any more than that could leave you wide awake in the middle of the night
- Shut off your computer and quit using your tablet two hours before bedtime
- Turn off automatic notifications so that you can’t hear every time someone emails you
- Lower the thermostat or close the heater vents in your room as you sleep better when it is colder (the National Sleep Foundation recommends setting it somewhere between 60 and 67 degrees)
- Lower your caffeine consumption during the second half of the day
- Stop smoking as nicotine is a stimulant
- Eat dinner at least 2-3 hours before bedtime so your tummy isn’t busy working to digest your food when you’re trying to close your eyes and rest
- Engage in daily exercise to make you more tired and your sleep more restful
- Don’t work out within a few hours of going to sleep to give your body ample time to slow back down
- Keep your bedroom television off as the noise and light can keep you awake
- Create relaxing bedtime rituals, such as taking a warm bath or reading, so your body knows that sleep is just ahead
- Listen to soothing music or white noise to make it easier to drift off
- While lying in bed, go down your body and systematically release each tense muscle, starting with your neck and shoulders and ending with your toes (if you are still awake)
- Every time your mind wanders to work and everything you have to do, bring it back to a more relaxing thought, such as sitting on the beach and soaking up fun or next to a babbling brook listening to the water as it cascades over the rocks
- If your mattress and pillow are to blame, purchase new ones so that you are more comfortable while in bed
- Get intimate with your partner as WebMD reports that orgasm promotes the release of hormones that promote drowsiness
- Realize that worrying about things while lying in bed isn’t going to help them get better
Try these 24 things and give yourself—and your work-related worries—a rest.
short url:
