Step Two: Take Small Steps

Nothing happens quickly, not anything worth doing, anyway. If you want to get on a better sleep routine and stick to it then you should take small baby steps to success. Don’t jump right in and force yourself to go to bed one or two hours earlier than normal. You’ll just lay there, staring at the ceiling for two hours before your brain says, “okay, bedtime”.

Instead, ease into it. Go to bed 15 minutes early each night for one week. Then increase by another 15 minutes the following week after. Your body won’t even notice, and you’ll slowly trick it into a better sleep pattern.

Step Three: Lights Out

Have you ever felt tired, went to bed, only to lay there unable to fall asleep? Then there’s probably other factors affecting your sleep behavior, things that aren’t your fault. Check your bedroom. Does it have bright city lights shining in through the windows? Maybe it’s full of bright colors or there’s tons of technology sitting around.

If this is the case, then get rid of it all. Chuck the bright colors, get some black out curtains, and remove any devices from your bedroom. Without these distractions, you’ll find yourself able to fall asleep much easier. Also, this is where a good sleep mask comes into play.

Step Four: Wake Up to the Sun

You should go to bed in the dark and wake up in the light, scientists say. And they’re right. Our bodies are already programmed to know when the sun rises, so use that to your advantage. When your alarm goes off, don’t ignore it and roll over. Instead, get up, open your curtains and say hello to the morning sun. This ignites so many things in the brain to help with your sleep schedule programming. Take it one step further and go sit on your patio or balcony with your morning coffee. The fresh air will awaken your body and mind.

Step Five: Stop Snoozing

I’m talking about the snooze button. If you find yourself hitting the snooze feature on your alarm clock more than once each morning, then you need to stop it altogether. Snoozing and letting your body fall back asleep for five minutes is far worse than getting no sleep at all. It makes it harder to adjust and will ruin your hard work with trying to get on a sleep schedule.

Instead, get yourself an alarm without a snooze, or just place the one you have further away and out of reach. This will force you to get up out of bed to turn it off, and by then, you may as well just stay up.

READ Relaxation Techniques For Sleep Disorders

Step Six: No More Late-Night Eating

Sorry snackers, but this is reality. You should never go to bed with food in your stomach. Your body needs to be awake to digest it and that’s not something you should do while sleeping. Eating before bed is also bad for your health as it causes weight problems and heart issues.

Instead, try and have a large meal for supper, at least 3 hours before bed, and pack it full of protein. This will help to curb your snack cravings at night and allow you to go to bed without caving.

Conclusion

I hope this article helped you out. When I found myself overworked and sleeping far less than I should with two small kids at home, I was desperate for a solution. But I followed these steps and got myself on a good schedule. It takes time, so don’t be discouraged. Stick with it. Your body will thank you.