Four Ways to Have a Good Sleep

For those who are drowning in urban life, having a good sleep is becoming an expectation hard of reaching.

From the moment we wake up till the end of the day, many errands are consuming our energies, leaving us feeling exhausted at night. Nevertheless, by the time we go to bed, our minds remain too busy and active to fall asleep.

How to have a good sleep? Try these four methods I will show you.

01. Stay away from electronic devices before bed

Would you use your phone or other electronic devices on the bed?

As the interest of using phones on bed grows, the devices' detrimental effects on sleeping quality develop.

Findings show that the blue light (short wavelength light; SWL) exposures from electronic devices disrupts human sleep, biological rhythms, and even the attention abilities in the next morning as it inhibits the secretion of melatonin in our bodies.

It's like the brain's signal to the body "it's time to sleep" is delayed, causing sleep disturbances.

Being exposed to blue light for a long time, people will have an intermittent sleep, waking up an average of 6.7 times, and often feel tired and have bad moods during the day. ^[1]

To avoid the impact of blue lights, the first step you can do is to keep yourself away from watching electronic screens at night.

You can read a book or listen to ambiance music, lowering the dependence on electronic devices.

You can also set a shutdown alert for your devices, such as turning off automatically 90 minutes before bedtime. If you don't have enough self-control and will turn the machine back on, then try not to bring the devices into the bedroom.

If you want, you will find a way to stay away from your devices before bed.

02. Create a nice sleeping environment

Have you noticed that every time you stay in a hotel or stay over at a friend's house, you may not sleep as easily as at your home?

It's not your illusion.

Staying in a familiar place does allow us to slow down and gently come to rest.

If the sleeping environment is created "just right" to meet the needs of sleep, you will find it not difficult anymore to get quality sleep.

💡 Light

Our eyes, sensing the different intensity of light on day and night, will communicate with the brain to determine whether the body enters the state of sleep.

Bright light is taken as a signal of daytime, while dim light and night remind the body that it's time to rest.

To improve your sleep, try preparing yourself a warm night or adjusting the light at the room.

🛏 Bed

The bed is where your whole body is softly lying all night.

Trust me, a clean and cozy bed places the foundation of your quality sleep.

For your mattress, quilt, or pillow, carefully choose the material that suits you to ensure that you sleep well.

🎼 White Noise

Have you ever noticed that each time when it's raining outside, you can always sleep better?

Our hearing system is like the guard for our bodies. Even if you are sleeping, it keeps reacting towards the sounds outside.

But the continuous and soft sound of raining is like an invisible mask. It makes all other noises fade away to the background. With the dimmer light on the cabinet, you will gradually become peaceful and relaxed. Even if you have insomnia, you can fall asleep quickly as well.

Many sounds of nature are white noise, such as the sounds of rain and waves. They are soothing and rhythmic. They can help to block many other noises, which can disrupt your sleep.

🍃 Scent Diffuser

If possible, you can turn on a scent diffuser, allowing the joyful scent to soothe you slowly.

For example, the linalyl acetate and linalool hid in the natural lavender oil can gradually calm down your nervous system and decrease the epinephrine. So it can help you to adjust your emotions and reduce stress.

03. Take a deep breath and calm down

We always believe that at the moment we arrive home, we can eventually take a break after a busy working day. However, we usually find ourselves trapped in the matters that happened during the day or the worries about what will happen tomorrow as we lay in the bed. These prevent us from getting rid of the tension and exhaustion caused by a long day.

Why not spend some time to relax fully? Try releasing all the burdens and stress within the body and immersing in the complete peace and calmness.

You can rest your attention on your breaths. Take some deep and soothing breaths with a 4-7-8 breathing method to unwind yourself.

Here's the way:

1. Let your lips part. Breathing out entirely through your mouth.
2. Close your mouth. Breathing in with your nose as you count to 4 in your head, letting yourself to get in more oxygen;
3. Hold your breath for 7 seconds, leaving enough time for the oxygen to get into your body;
4. Breathing out with your mouth slowly as you count to 8. By doing so, you can fully release all the carbon dioxide in your body and reduce the degree of sympathetic nerve excitement.

The 4-7-8 breathing method is designed by Medical Dr. Andrew Weil from Harvard University. It forces the mind and body to focus on regulating the breath, rather than replaying your worries when you lie down at night.

This is particularly designed to bring the body into a state of deep relaxation if you are experiencing sleeplessness.

With 4-7-8 breathing, let yourself fully feel your body sensations with the bed, and feel your head's connection with the pillow and be aware of anything you can see or smell in the room.

When you enjoy each detail of the moment, you will ease into sleep gradually.

04. Accept that you cannot sleep

One of the reasons people experience sleeplessness comes from the worry of insomnia itself.

Lying on the bed, checking what time it is frequently, and counting how long you can sleep before waking up. You may take as many ways as possible to force yourself falling asleep quickly.

The worry and anxiety within these actions for insomnia itself is the main reason you can't fall asleep.

What you need to do is to let go of all these fleeting thoughts. There is no need to think about why you stay away. Accept whatever state you are as it is.

If you like, you can visit Tide's Sleep page. Here, we offer you selected sound scenes and meditation practices to relax fully. Pick one and let yourself gradually easing into sleep, little by little.

Besides the four ways of having a good sleep we introduced, here is a checklist of 10 things you can try step by step fo get quality sleep.

1. Control the amount of Caffeine you intake 6 hours before sleeping
2. Take a comfortable shower to release the tensions inside the body
3. Read a book slowly to calm your mind
4. Listen to the soothing melody, feeling your heart is getting calm bit by bit
5. Dimming the room lights to create a restful environment
6. Place your electronic devices aside and imagine that all of your fleeting thoughts can be placed aside as well.
7. Slightly stretch your body to the extent you feel comfortable
8. Set the alarm with soft music for a great morning
9. Take a couple of deep breaths, slowly join into
10. Gently close your eyes and take a great sleep

Don't take sleeping as a purpose. Take it as a state you will naturally reach. For whatever feelings arise when you go to bed, carefully pay attention to them. Gradually, you will sleep soundly.

It doesn't matter if your daily routine is complicated and fussy. Each night when you release all your exhaustion and lie down comfortably on your bed, it must be a pleasant and enjoyable moment.

Have a sweet dream.

Author: Amy

Photo: Unsplash