5 Healthy Sleep Routine Tips to Help You Get Restful Sleep and Wake Up Feeling Refreshed

By Dana M. Brandt-Tinker, LMT

Sleep. Do you have a good relationship with sleep? Or is sleep the first thing that goes when there are work demands or daily tasks to accomplish?

It’s important to make sleep a priority in your everyday life. Your body heals during this time, so not getting enough sleep will only make your body suffer. FYI: You can and will never catch up on lost sleep!

Here are a few tips that I follow to help my body wind down for the night so my body can start producing its own melatonin and I can achieve better quality sleep.

• Dim the Lights- When it starts to get dark outside, dim the lights in the house. Or, if you find yourself staying mostly in one room, you can purchase Wi-Fi LED dimmable light bulbs like these that we use. You can control them through an app on your phone, where you can schedule the lightbulbs to dim, turn off, or turn on at specific times.

• Eliminate Blue Light- Reduce or eliminate the use of computers, devices or TV. Research has found that exposure to blue light from these devices suppresses the body’s natural production of melatonin more than any other color. Your body is more sensitive to this wavelength.

If you must use your computer or watch TV, make sure you are using a blue light filter on these devices.

• Windows 10, Insider Build 15002 has a blue light filter.

Here are steps to enable it.

• Apple has a night shift mode for their iPad, iPhone and iPod.

Here are steps to enable it.

• Android has several different blue light filters that you can download from their app store.

Or, if you want to be extra stylish like me you can purchase a pair of these blue light blocking glasses from Amazon for less than $10 to wear at night time to reduce the amount of blue light entering your eyes.

• Eat for Your Body- What you eat at night time might be the culprit to not getting a full night’s sleep. Some people do well with more carbs and food later in the day. Some people do not because it disrupts their sleep. I find I sleep better if I have more protein and fat at least 1-2 hours before bed.

• Sleep in a Dark and Cool Room- Are you afraid of the dark? If so, that’s a whole other issue, because you should be sleeping in a dark and cool room. You’ll be amazed how much better you will sleep if you invest in black-out curtains or blackout roller shades to block as much light from coming in through your windows from. If you prefer not to invest in curtains or roller shades, I highly recommend to this sleep mask. I love mine! I love how it forms around my eyes and doesn’t put pressure on my eye sockets. I can still blink comfortably in this ultralight sleep mask.

To cold or to warm? The suggested temperature of your bedroom for optimal sleep is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. When in bed, your body temperature decreases to initiate sleep- and the recommended temperatures can help promote this. Lower or higher thermostat temperatures can lead to restlessness and affect the quality of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

• Learn to Unwind- It’s just as important to establish a night-time routine like your morning routine. Even though it may be small, it’s still a routine that over time will allow your brain to realize it’s time to unwind for bed.

Here is what I like to do:

• I like to be in bed between 9 – 10 PM. By 8 PM, I make sure that I am done with all meals. That way my stomach has time to digest my last meal before I go to sleep.
• I then make my way to the bathroom for a nice hot shower, or I take a bath with Epsom salts. Instead of leaving the lights on in the bathroom, I light my 3 wick candle, play some calming music off my phone, and really take this time to pamper myself and enjoy the quiet and stillness. I might even apply a face mask.
• After my bath or shower, I put on those stylish blue-blocking glasses that I mentioned above, then make my way to my front room to do 30 minutes of bedtime yoga. This is my favorite calming yoga video on YouTube. I was even able to get my husband Brian to do it once too!
• After my bedtime yoga, I make my way to my kitchen to make myself some calming tea. Some calming teas to try are chamomile, valerian root, lavender or lemon balm. There are many different tea brands with their own blend of tea to help promote sleep. Please note that I drink my tea without any form of sweetener. We all know that having sugar before bedtime causes your blood sugar to spike and then drop. The drop in blood sugar then causes you to wake up in the middle of the night.
• I then make my way to bed to sip my tea, take my vitamin supplements, put a piece of medical grade tape over my mouth, and enjoy listening and partaking in some guided meditation. I really enjoy this meditation channel on YouTube.

Yes, I said I tape my mouth shut at night! The practice is called “mouth taping”. It helps promote breathing through your nose rather than your mouth. Do you wake up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth? If so, you are mouth breathing. When you mouth breathe you are activating your sympathetic nervous system, which activates your fight-or-flight response. When you breathe through your nose, you are activating your parasympathetic nervous system, which allows your body to rest and recuperate. It also has many other health benefits. Please feel free to read about it here or watch this YouTube video.

If you have really tried ALL the steps above and are still having trouble falling or staying asleep. Talk to your doctor about adding magnesium, GABA or 5-HTP as a supplement to take before bedtime.

Here’s to sweet dreams!