Quality of sleep is less related to the hours of sleep you get but more importantly, how you prepare for sleep. We all do things that we don’t even realize affects the quality of our rest. This results in groggy mornings and sluggish days for everyone.
Factors affecting your sleep
1. Doom scrolling: This is not just a late-night habit. You can try to have a “digital sunset” 30-60 minutes prior to bed. Turning your screens off can open your mind to refocus on more suitable activities, such as reading or stretching.
2. Eating habits: After a sleepless or bad sleep night, we should all consider our late-night eating habits. Late-night snacking and heavy, spicy or large amounts of sweets can disrupt digestion or muck with blood sugar levels, and potentially raise your core temperature while you are sleep. Keeping it lighter for late-night snacks like a banana with some almond butter or herbal teas may be a better way to go.
3. Alcohol: Having a drink may make you feel good for sleep, but alcohol will block REM cycles of important sleep. You may think you can sleep earlier, but you are essentially getting less quality sleep, which means you are probably waking up earlier! Calming options can include magnesium drinks and herbal tea to enhance deeper and restorative sleep.
4. Stress: Taking stress into bed from work or unresolved panic may promote a sense of alertness in your body. Use of a “mental cleanse” like journaling, or breathwork, can help the body shift from a fight or flight position to a rest position.
5. Routine: Not having a relatively consistent bedtime can leave the body with no sleep signals. Creating a routine with 2–3 calm activities, such as some light stretching or listening to soft music, can help the body understands to start winding down.
6. Screen time: Working, eating, or watching screens in bed allows the brain to think of the bed as a place of activity as opposed to rest. By limiting the bed to sleep (and intimacy), the brain will learn to associate bed with relaxation only.
7. Move, move, move: Also, limiting movement right before bed can reduce the ability to unwind. Gentle stretching, breathing practices, or gentle restorative positions, like legs up the wall, can bring relief from accumulations of tension, and signal the body and brain that it is now time to sleep.
The final thought
The common thought of “I will just push through tom or row” perpetuates chronic lack of sleep. Quality sleep is not a luxury, it is a biological requirement, and it affects mood, productivity, and long-term health. We can fix bedtime by replacing these disruptive habits with conscious activities, and reframe bedtime as a restorative ritual. Thus, you can ensure that you wake up ready to take on the world every morning.
