Top 5 Tips for Better Sleep

A lot of people struggle with getting quality sleep, so don’t worry, you’re not alone!

Our brains and bodies are so busy throughout the day, it can be hard to wind down when it’s time to hit the hay. But there are a few things you can do to improve your sleep habits so you can wake up feeling rested and ready to take on your day.

Here are my top 5 tips for better sleep: 

1. Adjust your sleep environment 

Where you sleep matters, so set yourself up for sleep success. Make your bedroom dark, quiet, and cold. Now, I don’t mean frigid, more like comfortably cool. Ideally, 65 degrees Fahrenheit is the perfect room temperature for sleep. Why? Sleeping in a cooler room helps to boost your metabolic process, which in turn improves your health by lowering your risk for high blood pressure and diabetes. Sleeping in a colder environment also boosts the production of growth hormones which help to repair damaged muscle tissues and bone fractures. 

Try your best to avoid bright light an hour or so before bed. Exposure to stimulating light and sounds at night can make it more difficult for your brain to know it’s time for sleep, so make your sleep space as dark and quiet as possible. Try charging your phone in another room, or reading from a book or paper rather than your device. If silence isn’t your thing, try a sound machine or gentle sleep music that you can set on a timer!

2. Add helpful supplements 

I know you’ve probably heard of taking melatonin before bed, but I’m actually not a fan of melatonin. Your body should be making it naturally and adding a long-term supplemental form can disrupt your body’s natural production. 

On the other hand, I am a huge fan of magnesium. Whether you take it as a supplement at night, or as a topical oil on sore muscles, magnesium can help with your sleep quality and muscle recovery. There are a few different kinds of magnesium out there, but my favorite for sleep is magnesium glycinate, which is a combination of magnesium and the non-essential sleep-inducing amino acid, glycine.

Bonus Tip: If melatonin works for you… try to take it for a short time. But ONLY when I need to restart my circadian clock after traveling, being sick, or as a major pattern interrupt. This is what I take : LINK it’s a CBD with a low dose of melatonin.

3. Add Red light therapy to your bedtime routine 

Red light therapy, or RLT, is a treatment that uses low wavelength red light to improve your health. Research is still ongoing, but there is some evidence to suggest that red light therapy can help improve injury recovery, promote tissue repair, ease inflammation, and even reduce wrinkles. So, how does it work? Red light therapy is thought to influence the powerhouse of the cell, or the mitochondria, which is where energy is created. And the more energy your cells have, the better they can function, regenerate, and repair damage. Unfortunately, we don’t always wake up to the red light sun in the morning or see it in the evening which can effect our circadian rhythm*. I will talk more about this later. But I always use my RLT at night before bed.

Bonus fact: Remember how I said I wasn’t a fan of taking a melatonin supplement before bed? Well, red light therapy has also shown that it stimulates your natural melatonin production, which will lead to more restful sleep, win win! Sold? Here’s the red light that I use daily. ( For 20% off)

Bonus fact #2! You can turn your phone RED at night! Check out this link to learn more. 

4. Limit your screen exposure before bed 

I know it’s hard, but try to avoid screens about an hour or so before bed. The blue light from your iPad, phone, computer, or tv can disrupt your *circadian rhythm, which is a natural internal process that regulates the sleep–wake cycle that repeats roughly every 24 hours. Your circadian rhythm responds to your environment, so all that blue light can trick your brain into thinking it should stay awake well past your bedtime. Blue spectrum light from your screens can also cause your cortisol levels to spike and lower your melatonin production. Since most of us aren’t farmers, and we work in front of computer screens, our circadian rhythms are inevitably disrupted. My advice? Try blue light glasses if you find yourself in front of a computer screen for most of your day, and red light glasses for the evening! I promise, you and your circadian rhythm will thank me later. 

In a perfect world, we would be able to quit screens completely, but that’s not exactly realistic. Breaking up with your screens can be difficult, so in the meantime, try these simple solutions to help improve your sleep quality. 

5. Try mouth taping

This one isn’t for everyone, but it works! Mouth taping is an increasingly popular home treatment used to encourage nose breathing during sleep. Mark Burhenne, author of, “The 8-Hour Sleep Paradox,” explains that, “Nose breathing is vital for increased nitric oxide production in the sinuses, which has been linked to reduced inflammation, improved sleep, improved memory, and an overall increase in immune system function.” So, if you tend to snore, or breathe through your mouth at night, try mouth taping to encourage nose breathing during sleep. 

Remember, you’re not alone. A lot of people struggle with sleep quality, but the good news is there are a ton of solutions out there to help improve your sleep habits. And one of the BEST resource out there is Sleep Is A Skill. Sleep Is A Skill is a company that optimizes people’s sleep through a unique blend of technology, accountability, and behavioral change. You won’t regret reaching out to them for help.

As therapist, I’ve seen serious results with these suggestions above. If you’ve tried it all and you’re looking for one-on-one pain-free sleep support, get in touch! - Contact Me