How to Sleep Better: 5 Ways to Improve your Sleep

If you want your life to run smoothly and efficiently you need to get enough rest. Here are some tips on how you can do that.

    1. Change your bedroom. A dark, cool room helps you fall asleep faster when you go to bed. Cut down on noise with wall-to-wall carpeting, hanging tapestries, curtains and earplugs, if necessary. Eliminate televisions, phones and computers – all of which are associated with activity, and are sources of obvious distraction that will stop you from nodding off and getting that all-important sleep.

    2. Establish comforting bedtime habits. If you pay bills just before going to bed, you won't drop off to sleep easily. Instead, taking a few minutes to stretch, meditate or read will help you wind down faster.
    3. Keep sleep stress-free. For many people, bedtime is the first quiet time they've had all day. Schedule 30 minutes of ‘worry time’ sometime during the day, well before bedtime. Make a list of the things you're anxious about, and how you're going to cope with them. Then promise yourself you'll think about them tomorrow.
    4. Calm your brain. Protein foods contain tryptophan, which the body converts into sleep-inducing chemicals. The best bedtime snack is a mixture of protein (like milk), complex carbohydrates (to dispel amino acids other than tryptophan) and calcium (to help the brain use the tryptophan). Quickest and easiest of all? A plain biscuit and a glass of milk.
    5. Try a relaxation trick: get comfortable, then take eight very slow, deep breaths, noticing how your stomach expands and contracts as you breathe. Consciously centre your focus on your breathing.