How to get better quality sleep:
To feel your best during the day, you need to sleep well at night. Sadly there are no quick fixes here, but there are some natural remedies and small habit changes that may be able to support your sleep.
Firstly create a restful environment for sleep:
Spend time making your room ideal for sleeping. This often means cool, dark and quiet. Make sure the room is well ventilated, make sure your curtains are pulled shut and that the room is free from distractions so that you can wind down and chill out. Try to leave your phone or any screens in a different room as these can disturb the sleep oasis you are creating for yourself!
Stick to a sleep schedule:
Being consistent reinforces your sleep-wake cycle (Mayo Clinic 2020), try to stick to your sleep schedule as much as possible. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, and try to limit the variation in this by only an hour. This way your body clock knows when it is time to wind down and set you up for a good night’s sleep.
Consider what you eat and drink:
In the hours leading up to bed time, try to be mindful of what you are putting in your body. Too little food can cause wakefulness and large filling meals could bring discomfort during the night.
As mentioned above, nicotine and caffeine can also keep you awake so perhaps try reducing your intake of these in the hours leading up to bedtime!
Exercise during the day:
Physical exercise can tucker you out in just the right way to get a good night's sleep and has been shown to promote better sleep. This could just be a short walk outside, or around the block at lunchtime. Getting outside during the day has also shown to be helpful in improving your overall wellbeing.
Manage your worries:
Often our worries about the day’s events or the upcoming day can keep us awake at night. One helpful tip is to have a notepad by your bed and jot down any worries or actions for the next day that spring to mind - so that you know you are able to deal with them in the morning.
When it comes to worrying, practicing mindfulness or carrying out meditation can also be really helpful.
Try some CBD:
CBD, which is short for cannabidiol. Works with our ECS (endocannabinoid system) to help bring our bodies back into balance. Whether this relates to stress, anxiety, pain, inflammation, our immune system and even sleep. CBD may be able to soothe anxiety and stresses from the day, allowing our brains to wind down and preparing us for a better night’s sleep.
Incorporating CBD into your night-time routine may be able to help you prepare your body for sleep more effectively, leading to a better quality of sleep! CBD comes in a variety of different formats, so whether you grab a CBD drink or a few drops of CBD oil, it may be the perfect natural solution to your worries before bed.
In TRIP’s 2021 Sleep Survey 78% of people said they would be willing to try CBD to improve their sleep quality, with many already having tried it and attesting to its benefits.
