Sleeping Better in a Stressful World
Have you noticed difficulty with your sleep recently? You’re not alone!
Whenever we experience a higher level of stress, our sleep can be negatively affected. The world is providing us plenty of opportunity to feel stressed lately with COVID-19 and the resulting financial, social, emotional, and health concerns. Not to mention the current racial justice movement and upcoming election.
Sleep is important for our overall well-being, both physical and mental.
It helps us rejuvenate. It is the time our brains process any information we’ve learned throughout the day, and it gives us some energy we need to function properly the next day. You might notice when you’re tired you have trouble concentrating, you are more irritable, you feel more anxious, or you just feel “off” during the day. Whether you’re having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling rested after sleep, this post has suggestions for you to try.
Below are 10 different areas you can address to have better sleep.
I want to acknowledge that depending on your current life situation, not all of these are possible to be changed. Do what you can and pick the areas that apply and feel feasible to you!
During the Day:
Exercise
If you are someone who exercises, try to be done exercising before 7pm. When we exercise, our body and mind get activated. Making sure this is earlier in the day will assure that we are more ready for bed when the time comes.
Minimize Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine
Caffeine can stay in our bodies longer than we feel the effects (up to 12 hours!). Keep your caffeine use to earlier in the day to make sure it doesn’t keep you up!
Alcohol, while it can make us feel sleepy, actually makes our sleep less restful. If you choose to drink try to let your body fully process the alcohol you’ve had before going to bed.
Nicotine is a stimulant and can mask our feelings of tiredness. Limiting its use, especially later in the day can help you with sleep.
Naps
Sometimes we need a nap, but the length of the nap and when we take it can impact how we sleep at night. Keep naps under an hour and earlier in the day.
Bed use
Keep your bed for sleep & sex only. Avoid doing work or homework in bed. When we do this our brain will associate bed with work and therefore stress!
At Bedtime:
Comfortable sleeping environment
Making sure you are comfortable where you sleep will aid in your ability to relax. Things that can help are eye masks, noise machines, ear plugs, fans, and adjusting the temperature. Sleep sounds can come from a fan, a noise machine, or the free phone app “White Noise.” If you are looking for a noise that will specifically help sleep, try the “pink noise” frequency, some research has suggested this promotes sleep in the brain.
Managing Bedtime Worries
If you notice that you worry a lot at night, try journaling before bed. This doesn’t have to be fancy, it can just be a bullet point list of what you’re worried about, or a todo list for tomorrow. This will help acknowledge the worries and take them out of your brain temporarily so you can rest.
Devices
Do your best to stop using screens (phone, TV, computer) at least 30 minutes before bedtime, the longer the better. This will allow your brain to start shifting into bedtime mode & stop being activated as much
Look into programs/apps/settings that shift the color of your screens from blue light to more yellow hues around sunset.
If you need to use your phone as an alarm put it next to your bed not in bed with you to reduce potential distraction while sleeping.
Learn how to set-up silent or Do Not Disturb mode on your phone. Depending on your phone, you might be able to choose certain contacts that are allowed to ring your phone at any time (in case of emergencies). Outside of those situations, you want to make sure your phone does not buzz or ring and wake you up unnecessarily.
Avoid scrolling social media or news before bed or in bed. Again this keeps your brain from associating the resulting stress with your bed and sleep.
Create a Bedtime Routine
Set as much of a sleep schedule as you can. Wake up around the same time every day and go to bed around the same time every day (even on weekends). This will regulate your internal sleep rhythms.
Create a bedtime routine that is about the same every night. Over time this will signal to your brain that it’s time to start slowing down and getting sleepy. This routine is customizable for you! Examples include reading something light and easy for fun, drinking some hot (herbal) tea, getting into your pajamas, brushing your teeth, doing a face mask, etc. Climb into bed when you start to feel tired.
Relaxation and Mindfulness to Fall Asleep
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
This is a technique that engages your parasympathetic nervous system (which is in charge of rest and slowing your heart rate) and can help you calm yourself. This exercise consists of tensing and releasing one muscle group at a time while taking slow deep breaths. If you’d like to try, I’ve recommended and used this YouTube video for PRM over the last few years. It does a great job explaining exactly what to do in a calming voice & is 15 minutes long. If it works, you can even fall asleep before the video ends!
Mindfulness apps can aid in relaxation and some have sleep specific tracks.
The first 10 meditations are free & after that most content is unlocked by subscription. If you are a student, you can get a significant discount on content by signing up with your student email address.
This app also offers mood tracking before and after meditations.
While in Bed:
Tossing and Turning
If you find yourself still awake after approximately 20 minutes, get out of bed! This breaks up the cycle and avoids your brain associating bed with restlessness. Even if you just stand next to your bed and stretch, do something different. Maybe get out of bed and go journal what’s keeping you up, or stretch your arms over your head, get a sip of water, or use the toilet. Avoid looking at the clock while you’re up, as this can increase your stress levels.
