How To Have Better Quality Sleep And Wake Up Feeling Better

Better Quality Sleep doesn’t always come from simply getting the “recommended” number of hours. How many of us have slept for the recommended amount of time, only to wake up feeling exhausted, unwell, or as though we didn’t sleep at all?

There are a lot of factors that contribute to sleep quality. Habits you do each evening, bedroom sensory stimulations, how active you are throughout the day, the caffeine you consume, your daily stress, and how much light you are exposed to can all affect the ease of falling, and staying, asleep.

Luckily, drastic changes are not always necessary when attempting to improve the quality of sleep. Many times, the most useful changes are fairly mundane.

Build A Simple Sleep Routine

One of the simplest improvements you can make is developing a relatively consistent sleep and wake schedule.

Your body has a internal timer that helps govern sleep and wake cycles, and insane shifts in your sleep and wake routines can make this timer more difficult to work with.

Think of an even number in which you are satisfied with waking up. You don’t need to be a slave to the clock. Still, be consistent

For example, let’s say your normal wake up time for the work week is 7 AM, but you sleep in until 12 PM each Sunday of the work week. You likely will feel horrible the first waking hour during the work week. This makes sense when you consider the big difference in your sleep cycle.

Make Sure You’re Giving Yourself Enough Time To Sleep

Many people search for answers to bad sleeping habits, but maybe they haven’t thought to consider if they aren’t giving themselves enough time to sleep.

There isn’t a shortage of activities that can dictate later and later bedtimes: work, studying, entertainment, household work, social activities, etc. Your phone can be a major contributor to these time-sinks as well.

If you constantly short yourself on sleep, no sleep routine will be enough to compensate for the sleep you’re losing.

Look at your day as a whole, figure out what time you have to wake up, and work backward. Think about how much sleep you actually need.

Give Yourself Time To Slow Down Before Bed

It can be difficult to enter a restful sleep state if you are transitioning from an activity like work, gaming, studying, or even scrolling.

Having a small activity that signals to your brain that you are winding down can make a world of difference.

Dimming the lights, taking a shower, reading a book, or even just planning out your next day’s tasks can work. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.

It can be as simple as creating a signal that your day is ending. Take some time away from your daily demands, even if it is just a short period of time.

Be Mindful Of What You Do On Your Devices

Screens are not the enemy.

Stressful emails, stimulating media, social media, video games, or even interesting web pages can overstimulate you and keep your mind active.

A good wind-down activity can make brushing your teeth and getting into bed feel relaxing.

If screen time is disrupting your sleep schedule, try creating a period of time before bed where you avoid highly stimulating content.

You shouldn’t have to totally cut yourself off from technology. The aim is to eliminate the various activities that will keep your brain stimulated as you should be slowly starting to wind down for the night.

Be Mindful Of Caffeine

The effect of caffeine on individuals varies, but it can stay in the body for several hours.

Obviously, coffee is the first thing that comes to mind, but it is also hidden in teas, energy drinks, sodas, chocolate, and even some medications.

If you are having trouble falling and staying asleep, check your caffeine intake at the end of the day and not just the amount you drink.

There are people out there who can drink caffeine in the evening with no effect at all, and there are people who can walk around being highly alert after consuming caffeine in the afternoon.

If you suspect caffeine is disrupting your sleep, try cutting it a few hours earlier and see if there was an improvement.

Avoid Using Alcohol To Fall Asleep

Just because alcohol makes people tired doesn’t mean it is good for sleep.

It is definitely a bad habit to rely on alcohol to fall asleep.

In the case someone relies on alcohol this much to fall asleep, then it is best to have a conversation with a health care professional instead of thinking of alcohol as a good long-term sleep aide.

Create A Better Sleeping Environment

Creating a good sleeping environment is more important than most think.

The environment impacts sleep. Obvious factors include temperature, bedding, noise, and comfort. An atmosphere becomes less conducive to rest when the room is too bright, warm, or noisy.

You don’t need to redecorate. Find the biggest disruption to your sleep and address that factor.

Light disrupts sleep the least, so block street lighting with better curtains. If you are waking up a lot due to noise, find a solution or use sound machines.

Use Your Bedroom For Sleep

Try not to use the bed as a work area. The clearer the association is between your bed and sleep, the easier it is to start thinking of bed time as rest time. You lose that association if you use the bed for stressful or stimulating activities.

Get Some Light During The Day

To aid your body in clearly understanding when to be alert or prepared to sleep, try to include light exposure daily.

Spending the majority of the day indoors makes this one easy.

If you have to work during the day, try to get up to go outside, rather than staying cooped up in the house.

It’s about making healthy changes to your lifestyle which doesn’t necessarily have to include a formal exercise routine. Spending more time of the day outdoors can help your body adjust to a sleep routine.

Physical activity can help promote quality sleep. It can mean going for a walk or a swim, or strength training, or even playing a sport. The key is to find an activity that you will not grow tired of repeating.

Exercising too close to bedtime can keep you awake. Move that exercise to the morning.

Finding what to eat for dinner is important. It can avoid feeling too stuffed and impact sleep negatively. Too little to eat can make you feel restless. There is no perfect time to eat dinner that works for everyone.

Avoid counting sheep, literally. Checking the time and how long you’ve been laying there isn’t going to help you fall asleep, it just makes it take longer. Take and move your alarm clock to an out of the way spot.

My goal is to eliminate the math required to determine the number of hours remaining until it is necessary to wake up.

What Should You Do If You Can’t Fall Asleep?

Attempting to fall asleep rarely proves successful when you are focused on forcing yourself to sleep.

Switching to a low-light, quiet activity away from your bed can often be more helpful than staying in bed and letting the minutes turn into hours while your frustration continues to grow.

You can always come back to bed after you get sleepy.

This activity should be calm rather than stimulating. Opening your email or starting a new work project should not replace reading or another relaxing activity as part of your morning routine.

If you have trouble sleeping often, you probably should see a doctor about it.

Manage Stress Before Bed

A busy mind can lead to a poor sleeping heart.

Phsyically, you may feel tired, but mentally you’re not. That’s when you start to think about everything you need to do, all the unnecessary things you have done, things you may have left unsaid, issues you didn’t finish at work, and a million other things.

In these cases, writing your priorities for tomorrow may help.

Closing your day with quiet activities, even for a short time, can help you mentally transition to being at peace.

Remember, the goal should be to make the transition to peace. Not eliminate all thoughts.

Don’t Try To Fix Everything At Once

If your sleep is poor, it is common to find yourself wanting to change everything. However, trying to improve too many things at once can quickly become overwhelming.

It can become a burden to introduce multiple changes at the same time, especially when you are already struggling with sleep. To simplify the process, first identify the biggest burden affecting your sleep and focus on improving that one area before making additional changes.

For example, maybe your bedtime should not be considered after the fact. Maybe you burn the midnight oil watching YouTube while you should be all raring to go at 7 a.m..

Perhaps the biggest burden is your noise-ridden bedroom dominating over your consistent schedule.

Eliminate what creates the biggest burden.

Create A Simple Evening Routine

The best way to avoid the bedtime pattern interrupting the flow of your day is to develop a simple evening routine. Imagine finishing your day’s obligations, preparing tomorrow’s things, dimming the lights, completing your final hygiene routine, reading for a while, and heading to bed. A consistent routine can help signal to your mind and body that it is time to wind down and prepare for sleep.

The routine doesn’t have to be monotonous. Just creating a general ritual of winding down your activity will help you get to a state of rest.

Keep Your Weekend Sleep Schedule Consistent

The best way to avoid the bedtime patter interrupting the flow of the day is to develop a simple evening routine. Imagine you finish your day’s obligations, prepare tomorrow’s things, dim the lights, do your final hygiene, read awhile, and head to bed.

The routine doesn’t have to be monotonous. Just creating a general ritual of winding down your activity will help you get to a state of rest.

The weekend can wreck your otherwise consistent sleep schedule when you allow yourself to sleep significantly later, stay up way later, and consume caffeine at odd hours.

Occasional changes are normal, but creating a weekend schedule so wildly different than the week that Mondays feel like recovering from jet lag is problematic.

A little consistency makes a lot of difference.

Signs It Is Time To See A Professional For Your Sleep Issues

There are a lot of things that can signal you need to see a doctor, but you should see a doctor if you have problems with sleep that are chronic (e.g. you have trouble falling asleep, you wake up at night or way too early, or you sleep very little and then feel sleepy and tired during the day).

Sleep problems can also be caused by a night time shift in breathing or snoring that’s very loud.

How You Can Improve Your Sleep This Week

You don’t need to completely overhaul your lifestyle this week.

To improve your sleep this week, pick a specific wake up time, commit to getting enough sleep, minimize activity that stimulates you before your bedtime, and improve your bedroom dark and comfortable.

Pay attention to your caffeine that you drink and how much sunlight you get during daylight and how much activity you get during the day.

Then notice what happened.

Rather than looking for the perfect sleep routine, let it be your experience and your habits what makes the greatest difference.

Better Sleep With A Simple Routine

Most of the time the best way to sleep better is a simple routine. That’s why a consistent schedule, caffeine timing, daytime activity, a dark and comfortable bedroom, and dimming your nighttime activity before bed can all help achieve better sleep.

You don’t have to address everything at one time. Focus on the habit that has the biggest impact on your sleep, and then give yourself at least a week to see whether that change leads to Better Quality Sleep.

Sleep problems that last and start to affect your everyday life mean you can’t just try to have more willpower. It is better to talk to a healthcare professional and find out if there is something worth addressing.

A consistent routine for good sleeping habits is not about following a complex list. The focus should be on the sleeping conditions and how consistent they are.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I improve the quality of my sleep without the use of medication?

Some things you can try may include maintaining a consistent sleep routine, having enough time to sleep, limiting stimulation in the evening, daily physical activity, and ensuring your bedroom is optimized for sleeping.

Can using a phone before bed affect sleeping?

Yes. Both screen light and stimulating activities before bed can help you stay awake. If your phone delays bedtime or if it helps you stay occupied, then it may be helpful to reduce your use before bed.

What time should I stop drinking coffee?

That time varies from person to person. If coffee disrupts your sleep, you may have to try shifting coffee time to earlier in the day and to see if your sleep improves.

Does exercise help with better sleep?

For many people, exercise helps with sleep. To see the benefit, you should choose a workout you enjoy, and stick to a consistent routine. If intense workouts close to bedtime make you feel more energized, then squeeze your workouts in earlier in the day.

Why do I feel so tired and fatigued in the morning after sleeping so many hours?

There can be many causes for feeling tired even after spending so much time in the bed. These causes can include bad sleep, sleep disruptions, an uncomfortable bedroom, stress, something that can be causing you to feel sick, etc. These causes should be discussed with your physician.

What should I do if Insomnia strikes?

If you cannot fall asleep, and it is causing frustration, the best course of action is to leave the bed and try to do something “quiet” until tiredness overcomes you. This course of action should be taken if the sleep issue is occurring on a consistent basis.