7 Tips to Improve Your Sleep Quality

There’s nothing like having a good night’s rest. In fact, I would say it’s just as important as a healthy diet and regular exercise. For years I took my sleep for granted, until the quality of my lifestyle decreased due to COVID-19. When stay-at-home orders took effect, my daily movement and exercise decreased, my exposure to sunlight and vitamin D decreased, and my healthy diet was not the best as well. As my lifestyle habits started to wane, my job activity from home increased, blurring the lines between work and home balance.

Little did I know that all of these little lifestyle changes would eventually accumulate and affect my sleep. Week after week, my sleep hygiene started to become worse. My nights went from eight hours to six hours to just four hours of sleep. I found myself lying in bed alert and wide awake, unable to force my body to become restless. Eventually, I developed insomnia, which is one of the most exhausting health disorders someone can develop. I went to my family doctor seeking answers, I started drinking sleepy time teas, and took melatonin without any avail. I felt defeated, all I wanted was to fall asleep and stay asleep. So I decided to start tracing back what changed in my life to cause my sleep deprivation. After a few hours of research, it dawned on me that I developed a poor lifestyle hygiene.

What is Sleep Hygiene?

Typically when we hear the word hygiene, we associate it with cleanliness – such as was washing your hands, teeth, or body. However, I discovered there really is a thing called sleep hygiene! When your lifestyle is not “clean”, your body will tell you, resulting in poor sleep quality. Factors such as diet and exercise are major elements that play in the quality of our sleep. In the book “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker, PhD, Walker explains that our bodies have a circadian rhythm, which is one of two factors determining wake and sleep cycles. As I continued reading Walker’s book, I learned that if I did not improve my sleep hygiene, I would be at a higher risk of cancer, heart disease, and a compromised immune system. So after self-reflection, and reading Walker’s compelling book about the anatomy of sleep, I was determined to correct the bad “hygiene” habits I developed. Within the course of a month, I naturally reversed my insomnia, and went back to sleeping 8 hours or more a day. Below are some of the practices and tips that worked for me:

Exercise

Not to sound cliché, but daily exercise was the number one factor that helped me reverse my bad sleeping habits. After additional research, I discovered that exercising for at least 30 minutes a day increased the serotonin levels in my brain. Serotonin is an important chemical that promotes sleep throughout the body.

Sleeping in a Dark Room

I found that sleeping in a room with lights or in a room that is not completely dark affected my sleep quality. To create a dark room atmosphere, I recommend investing in an eye mask (here’s my favorite one for years), or blackout shades for the bedroom.

Sounds for Sleeping

As I was trying to improve my sleep hygiene, I started to experiment with various sounds to see how this affected my sleep patterns. I found that looking up sleep music on Spotify, sleep music on Youtube, or my new favorite – the sound of raindrops were soothing rhythmic sounds that lulled my mind to sleep.

Aromatherapy

Part of my sleep journey also included learning more about natural essential oils, and how these affect the mind and mood. I learned that essential oils for me were not the one all cure all, but they definitely aided in the depth of sleep I had. I turned to a very close friend of mine, Theresa Mack, who is an expert in all things essential oils. She owns her own business – TDM Essential Oils, and she creates custom oil blends for lifestyle needs. My favorite oil blend to diffuse for sleeping that she recommended for me was – Lavender, Clary Sage, and Ylang Ylang blends. I recommend using doTERRA essential oils since their oils are organic, and not synthetic.

Set the Thermostat

Room temperature is a major factor in the comfortability of your sleep. If the room is too hot, you’re liable to wake up in sweats, if the room is too cold, it may take longer to fall asleep. I find that the best room temperature for sleep is around 62 – 72 degrees. Having a fan on with a warmer temperature helps too.

Avoid Caffeine Too Late in the Day

After reading Walker’s book on “Why We Sleep”, I became an instant fan. So much so, that when a Masterclass from Walker became available, I watched it on the first release week. During the Masterclass, Walker recommended not drinking caffeine after 2:00 PM. If you’re a coffee drinker, try drinking coffee early in the morning.

Avoid Blue Light Before Bed

Throughout the day, many of us are exposed to various technology devices that emit blue light. Some of these devices include – cellphones, laptops, TV screens, fluorescent, LED lighting and more. According to Harvard Health, when devices emit blue light, it essentially confuses the brain in to thinking it’s daylight instead of nighttime. This eventually results in the brain failing to release chemicals that trigger the mind into knowing it’s time to go to bed. Therefore, experts recommend not exposing yourself to blue light 2-3 hours before bed. To reduce my exposure to blue light, I decided to invest in some glasses to filter out this harmful light. I found some really good ones here on Amazon, which came in three different color variations.

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My Favorite Tools for Improved Sleep: