Getting at least seven hours of sleep is essential to mental and physical health, but an estimated 50-70 million Americans have chronic sleep problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sleep is especially important if you’re trying to improve your health. The health benefits are numerous — healthy sleep can reduce stress, improve metabolism and lower your risk of many chronic health conditions.
When I work with my private clients, sleep is always an area that we address. If falling asleep is difficult for you, you aren’t alone — about 14.5% of American adults have trouble falling asleep, according to data from the National Health Interview Survey.
It can help to create a nighttime routine that lets the body know it’s time for sleep. Be sure to try the new routine for a full week before deciding on the practices that worked best for you.
Practice gentle yoga
A bit of gentle yoga before bed will help muscles — and the mind — to relax. Studies show that just ten minutes a day of yoga can help improve mood, musculoskeletal discomfort and improve your sleep quality (something I’ve experienced personally).
I suffered from insomnia before I became a yoga instructor and health coach. I began with a restorative yoga class once a week that focused on syncing breath with movement, and it calmed my mind, helping me to eventually get rid of my sleeping aids.
Here’s a routine you can do right in your bed:
Breathe in through the nose and out through the nose four times. While connecting with your breath, sit up and open your knees out to the sides with your feet touching, if you can. Slowly lean forward to feel a stretch in your hips, groin and low back.
Next, extend your legs in front of you and hinge forward into a forward fold. How far you fold is not the point — connecting with your body and breath is the point. While in that position, breathe in and out four times.
Finally, lie flat on your back and hug your knees into your chest. Let the knees fall to the right for four breaths, then switch to the other side.
Keep work and play out of the bedroom
Many of our bedrooms have become multipurpose — an office, your home gym, a playroom for your kids — it may all get done in the bedroom. The problem is that a multipurpose room is not a great space to shut off your brain and relax.
Try using your bedroom for sleep and relaxation only. This will help train your mind into knowing that your bedroom is a place for rest, not everything else life throws at you.
If that’s not possible, close any closet doors or put up a screen to hide the space that’s not used for sleeping. Keep electronics out of your bedroom, or at least out of reach, and don’t use your phone or computer for at least one hour before bedtime.
Close down the kitchen early
I know it is beyond tempting to turn on your favorite TV show and grab a bowl of ice cream or bag of chips to indulge before bed. Or, you may come home from work late and find yourself eating dinner 30 minutes before going to bed. But consuming large meals or sugary snacks before bedtime can affect your sleep, especially if you already struggle with trying to fall asleep at night. Not to mention that the goal is to keep everything other than sleep out of the bedroom — not make it your dining room, too.
Try to eat more protein and fuel yourself during the day so that you’re less hungry at night. If you must eat before bed, opt for a handful of nuts, yogurt with some granola or herbal tea with honey to satisfy sweet cravings.
Try some breathing exercises
Controlling the most automatic function of our body — breathing — helps slow your heart rate, calm the mind and body and prime us for sleep. Some breathing exercises that are helpful include yoga breathing, where you breathe in and out through the nose slowly. As you breathe in, think about filling up your stomach and then your chest. As you exhale, release your chest and then your stomach. Close your eyes, and place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly.
One breathing technique that I personally love to do is box breathing: Breathe in for four counts, hold at the top for four counts, and then exhale for four counts. I feel relaxed and sleepy after just a few rounds of this. You can take this breathing exercise a step further by adding visualization. One of my clients started doing this while imagining that she’s on a beach breathing in fresh saltwater air with wind blowing in her hair. She drifts off to sleep as if she was swinging in a hammock by the ocean.
Meditate
Many people don’t understand the simplicity of meditation, but you can meditate by simply sitting (or lying) in silence and focusing on your breath. When the mind wanders, which it inevitably will, you gently bring it back to the breath. This is one of the most effective ways to calm your mind and body for a restful night’s sleep. One of my favorite ways to meditate before bed is to lie down on my back with my palms facing up. Try to lie in this position for five minutes and focus on your breathing.
One of my clients falls asleep this way, instead of listening to an engaging podcast or watching a television show. She focuses on breathing in for the count of five, and then breathing out for the count of five, picturing herself lying on a beach, and before you know it, she’s asleep.
Make your bedroom a retreat
I encourage my clients who have difficulty sleeping to set up their bedroom like a luxurious hotel. (Who doesn’t wake up feeling refreshed after a night in a fancy hotel room?) Turn down the bed an hour before bedtime. Light a candle that smells good. Keep hand lotion next to the bed. Dim the lights and have fuzzy socks or soft blankets on your bed. Make your bed alluring so that you look forward to going to sleep.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
