8 Ways to Develop Good Sleeping Habits

One of the areas of my life that I have been focusing on is to develop good sleeping habits. Your energy plays a big role in your productivity.

It is difficult to burn the candle at both ends and be effective. Before I started focusing on getting good rest, I often found myself getting extremely tired by mid-afternoon.

This of course caused me productivity to spiral downward. It is hard to focus on what you need to do when you feel tired. By focusing on good sleeping habits I have been able to get more productive.

Not all of habits mentioned below are sleeping habits, but they are all closely related to getting a good night’s rest.

8 Ways to Develop Good Sleeping Habits

Take breaks during the day – I have written on this before, but taking mini-breaks from work throughout the day can help. Even if you do not work at home, there are things you can do to take a mini-break. Go for a short walk. Even if it is to the restroom. Just give yourself mental breaks throughout the day.

Exercise to burn off stress – Stress has been known to be one of the most

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significant lack of sleep symptoms. If you are worried or stressed it will affect your sleep. By exercising you can burn off that stress and sleep better.

Do not eat after 8:00 if possible – Eating late has been known to cause us to be restless at night. Your body wants food for fuel. Going straight to bed is not good as your digestive system is still active.

No caffeine in the evenings – Caffeine can definitely be a culprit and it is something you should avoid. Choose instead to drink water anytime after dinner.

Stretch before going to bed – I started doing this a year or so ago mainly because I was having lower back pain at the time. Now, I like to stretch before bed because it relaxes me and helps me fall asleep.

Make the room as cool as possible – By cool I am not referring to strobe lights and shag carpet. I am referring to the temperature. When you are hot it is hard to rest and be comfortable. It is often better to be a little bit cold instead.

Do light reading before bed & avoid TV – A bad sleep habit is to watch the news before going to bed. All of those negative thoughts weigh on your mind whether you realize it or not. Instead, find some light reading that can settle your body but keep your mind active until you are too tired to read.

Use a Nighttime Noise Machine App – I love using a noise machine app for my iPhone. Have you ever heard of the phrase “the silence is deafening.” That is often how I feel if it is too quiet when I go to bed. I realize that not everyone is like me. My wife can lay down and be asleep in 2 minutes. That doesn’t work for me. My mind races. Having noise playing from a iPhone app helps me sleep.

Question: What sleeping habits do you use to get a good night’s rest?