Ways to sleep better AND faster: 5 tips you won’t have tried!

Lack of quality sleep can have such a negative impact on all areas of our lives. Sleep is a form of fuel, it is a daily physical and mental reset that our bodies require to function. Like the way we need food and water, we need sleep.

However, you don’t need me to tell you how frustrating, draining and relentless it is to be constantly tossing and turning in your bed not being able to get to sleep! Ultimately this affects your relationships, your social life, your professional life and your overall health and wellbeing, which none of us want or need!

Here’s a few tips that maybe you haven’t tried yet to help you sleep better and faster.

1. Try to avoid lie ins
You probably read that and thought ‘no way!’ but the keyword here is ‘try’…
I think you could be surprised by how much better you feel for not sleeping in at the weekends. The more the time you get up differs, the more jet-lag style symptoms you will experience. Whereas if you form a habit of going to sleep and waking up at a similar time every day, you will set your body’s internal clock and the quality of your rest will vastly improve.

2. Have a healthy breakfast
What has my breakfast got to do with how well I sleep?
I know, I read your mind! Well, believe it or not, this can have an impact on how well you sleep. Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a sleep therapist and author of Tired But Wired: How to Overcome Your Sleep Problems, told The Telegraph: “It’s as simple as this, if you don’t eat breakfast, your body believes it is living in famine and produces stress hormones that are not conducive to restful sleep. But by eating breakfast, you’re letting your body know there is enough food and you are living in safety, which in turn switches on your sleep, energy systems.”

3. Make relaxation your goal
Granted, it is easier said than done, but once you start thinking ‘I can’t sleep’ or ‘I’m not going to sleep tonight’ then you definitely won’t. As hard as it may be, try and keep the thoughts of your inability to fall to sleep out of your mind, and focus on just relaxing. Even if you’re not in a deep sleep, focusing on your breathing and muscle relaxation will still rejuvenate your body, and eventually, you will fall asleep. Think relaxation, not sleep.

4. Have your main meal at lunch time
This may not work for everyone as life can be pretty hectic, and sometimes whipping up a full main meal in the middle of the day just isn’t feasible. However, where you can, have a go at eating your main meal earlier in the day, as eating before bed can cause indigestion and acid reflux, ultimately stopping you from falling asleep.

5. Declutter your bedroom
Ever heard the saying “messy desk, messy mind’? Well, your bedroom works in the exact same way. If you are trying to sleep in a cluttered space, statistics say you’re definitely not in for a good night’s rest. So each day you should prioritise taking a couple of minutes to just give your bedroom a little tidy here and there, to maximise your chances of sleeping better AND faster.