One out of every three American adults reports that they typically do not get enough sleep. Not sleeping enough is correlated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions, and it is vital to our health and well-being that we get enough high-quality sleep.
In our high paced society, relaxing before bed so that you can fall asleep promptly can be very difficult.
Luckily, there are a number of effective relaxation tips that you can use to help you ensure that you are getting the sleep you need.
Let’s take a look at how to relax before bed so that you can be well-rested and at your best every morning.
How to Relax Before Bed: Create a Bedtime Routine
It is important to prepare both your body and your mind for the transition from wakefulness to sleep. If you are spending the hours before bed in an incredibly active state, it is no surprise that your mind is still ticking away when you lay down the bed. For this reason, it is healthy and helpful to adopt a regular and relaxing bedtime routine.
It is a good idea to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. This can help your circadian rhythm normalize and ensures that you’ll be tired and alert at the right times of day.
Check out this article for more tips for better sleep.
Reading
Reading is one common way many people relax before bed.
For some people, reading in bed can contribute to insomnia. It can therefore be ideal to do your reading in a different location. However, lots of people read in bed before sleeping without any adverse effects.
Meditation or Prayer
It can help to calm your mind to engage with meditative mantras or rote prayers. Each individual can find meditations that work for them regardless of their religious or non-religious preferences.
A common form of meditation is mindfulness meditation. This is when you simply observe these thoughts, feelings, and emotions that you are experiencing as they pass. It is important to work towards doing so without judgment.
You could also try a body scan medication. This is when you slowly concentrate on different parts of your body while noticing any pain or sensation you feel.
Others might use guided imagery to help them relax before they fall asleep. You can find many guided meditations online or in app form that can help encourage you to visualize a calming location or experience.
Listen to Music
Listening to music can be a wonderful way to relax before bed. Your own personal preference can dictate the genre choice, but classical music is always a good bet to create a calming and soothing outcome. You might also look to nature sounds or white noise to help your mind wind down.
Take a Shower or Bath
Taking a warm shower or bath before bed is one of the best ways to relax. By helping your body relax, it encourages your mind to relax as well.
Stretch
Engaging in low-impact exercises like yoga or stretching before bed can also be very helpful. You do not want this exercise to be overly aerobic but rather filled with gentle movements.
Journal
If you are kept awake by worry, keeping a journal can be a great way to help with relaxing before bed. You can use a journal to write down your thoughts and your worry which can help put them out into the open so they stop circling around your mind. You can keep a journal right next to your bed so that you can write down anxieties as they arise.
It can also be helpful to make a to-do list for the following day so you stop thinking about all the things that you need to do tomorrow. You can rest assured that there on your list and that you will take care of them when the time comes.
Avoid Blue Light Exposure
We are all are too accustomed to staring at screens. The light from these devices can interfere with your circadian rhythm, which can make it more difficult to fall asleep. For this reason, it is best to avoid using screens for several hours before you fall asleep.
Create a Good Sleep Environment
To help encourage your body to fall asleep, you want to create a good sleep environment. This includes keeping your room dark and cool and ensuring that you are not interrupted by noise.
You might consider investing in blackout curtains or at least a sleep mask. It can also be helpful to wear earplugs the night or to use a white noise machine to help block out noises that could keep you from relaxing.
Relaxing Before Bed Is Important For Your Physical and Mental Health
It is incredibly important for your physical and mental health to get good sleep every night. In fact, getting enough high-quality sleep is just as important for your health as exercising and eating healthy.
When you get good sleep, it can help improve your productivity and concentration. It can also help maximize your athletic performance and lower your risk for a number of diseases. There are also strong links between poor sleep and mental health issues like depression.
It’s important to respect the fact that your mind and body need some time to wind down before sleeping. You can’t expect to be incredibly activated and then immediately fall asleep with no transition time. That’s why learning how to relax in the evening is an important skill for your overall health and well-being.
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