How to Get the Best Nights Sleep

I’m going to be honest here, one of my favorite past times is sleeping. In fact, in college I would nap for an hour or two every day. I love being curled up with my favorite blanket and taking a snooze. I also love going to bed early and getting a full 8 hours of sleep every night. If I get any less than 7 hours I’m a complete mess the next day.

I don’t know the scientific reason behind some people needing the most amount of sleep versus only needing a couple hours, but I feel bad for those who can’t sleep. After a productive day, a grueling workout, and tasty dinner I can’t wait to get my pajamas on and start my nighttime routine.

One of my resolutions is to cherish this time of the day more. Yes, I love sleep and being cozy, but sometimes I go through the motions without actually appreciating all that goes into it. I think that there are few things that feel better than taking off your makeup and putting on comfortable pajamas.

So, coming from a self acclaimed professional sleeper, here are my tips to getting the best nights sleep!

Unwind, Unwind, Unwind

There are days when I’ll come home from work and fall into bed and not take time to relax. This is a huge mistake, because my body needs time to slow down. I always find that using the couple hours before bed to really be alone makes me more relaxed.

If you recall from my resolutions post, I’ve promised to meditate at least twice a week. This is the time in the evening that I will do so. I love the meditations that are on Tone It Up, or the app Grokker has some good ones too! After about 10 minutes of meditating I’ll journal how I feel afterwards or what I thought about. This clears my mind so that I don’t wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety or racing thoughts. It’s amazing how this 20ish minute part of my day seemed so hard to incorporate when I made the resolution, and now it’s one of my favorites.

My favorite way to unwind is taking a hot shower. I love showering at night because of how refreshed I feel after. Also, who wants to bring the grime of the day into bed with you? Not me. I drag this process out so that I can do some much needed skin care and hair care and just pamper myself. I’ll turn on my jams and sit in my steamy bathroom for sometimes 45 minutes going through my nighttime skincare routine. (If you want a post on this, let me know in the comments.) After moisturizing I love slipping into clean pajamas to continue my nightly ritual.

Another practice that makes me super relaxed is making some hot decaf tea. I prefer chamomile, but I drink peppermint on occasion. These teas have great health benefits and help me relax. After making my tea, I’ll curl up in bed with a candle lit and do a little reading. Which takes us to our next point…

I love reading, and this is also another resolution of mine. I find that I do the most reading on the weekends when I’m at the pool, or lounging on the balcony. However, I’m making it a priority to read before bed instead of watching tv. There’s not a legit reason like “the blue lights from screens make you more awake” because I fall asleep while watching tv all the time. I think that reading is a more productive way to spend my time, and honestly more relaxing.

Sleeping is a Routine

I personally think that sleep is a big part of routine. I don’t tell myself I’m falling asleep at 10, it just happens. My body knows at that time that it’s time to rest. In college I would be up til 2 am on the weekends and then falling asleep at 9 on the weekdays; in general my sleep schedule was all over the place. So, get in the routine of falling asleep at the same time every night.

In conjunction, wake up at the same time. My body will not let me sleep properly if my wake up time is different. Maybe it’s my anxiety, but anytime I set my alarm for an earlier time I wake up several times throughout the night. On the weekend my maximum sleep in time is an hour later than my weekday wake up call. I have an alarm set for Saturday and Sunday to wake up at 8. That doesn’t mean I’m out of bed. I love staying in bed and drinking my coffee.

Which side of the pillow are you on? Do you have trouble falling asleep, or are you like me and can sleep anywhere anytime? Let me know in the comments below!