Economic woes, daylight savings, work stress, family frenzies — there's no shortage of factors capable of interrupting our sleep time. Thankfully, there's also no shortage of strategies to help you rest easier. Here are six of my favorite surprising tactics that may help you get more shuteye.
- Get outside. Being in the daylight helps regulate your body's circadian rhythms, even if it's just for 30 minutes a day.
- Stop drinking water and booze a few hours before bedtime. Both will most likely make you wake up and have to pee, while alcohol can interfere with sleep and hunger patterns.
- Cut out the carbs. Avoid eating carb-heavy foods at least two hours before bed or more. According to Jillian Michaels in her new book, your ghrelin (hunger hormone) needs to be high in order to slip into deep sleep, but since carbs lower your ghrelin, they may stave off slumber.
For the remaining three, read more.
- Shut off exercise before shuteye. Physical activity can promote deeper sleep, but make sure to wrap it up at least five hours before bedtime.
- Eat sleepy foods. Some foods may actually aid restful sleep, including milk, tuna, avocados, almonds, oats, and many more!
- Set a stopping point for coffee. Caffeine in the mornings is fine and, depending on the person, early afternoon coffees are OK, too. But definitely try to steer clear of coffee within eight hours of bedtime.
Drykorn
Jimmy Choo
Hot Diamonds
Those are some great ideas, but no exercise 5 hours before bedtime is a hard one... after work workouts would be nearly impossible.
1i try not to eat 5-6 hours prior to sleep. but i always drink water before i go to bed and never did i have to get up to pee
2I always exercise in the evening... usually an hour before bed! I actually find it kind of helps?!
As for the getting up to pee - I have a five hour bladder no matter when I stop drinking.
Good tips though!
3Hmm...I can drink coffee 3-4 hours before bed with no problems getting to sleep. Caffeine doesn't affect me as much as it affects other people, I suppose. I do try to stop drinking liquids about 3 hours before I hit the sack though...I hate getting up at night to pee.
4If I don't get enough to drink before I go to bed, I wake up in the middle of the night dying for a glass of water! Oh, the irony.
5If I don't get enough to drink before I go to bed, I wake up in the middle of the night dying for a glass of water! Oh, the irony.
6Spectra, i drink coffee at 8pm too sometimes and sleep like a baby. and working out actually puts me in bed 2 hours earlier
7I also find that placing a warm magic bag under the covers right on my feet helps me fall asleep much faster and stay sleeping throughout the night - it is a great way to get your body to relax.
8I think there is a lot of confusion about working out before bedtime. I've read somewhere else (Jillian's blog??) that workout time doesn't matter. I usually work out a couple of hours before bedtime and find I am more exhausted since I worked out. Whatever works for you!
9what if i don't have time to work out until late at night?
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