Getting Quality Sleep – 9 Tips & Tricks
Getting quality sleep is essential for overall health and well-being. Expecting yourself to function, be productive and perform to your highest ability while you’re sleep deprived is crazy. However, with busy schedules and daily stresses, it can be challenging to get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep per night. I get it. Today we’ll explore some tips and strategies to help you get quality sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and energized.
1. Stick to a Sleep Schedule
One of the most important factors in getting quality sleep is sticking to a regular sleep schedule. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This can help regulate your body’s internal clock and improve the quality of your sleep.
Personally, I prefer to go to bed at 9.30pm and wake up at 6am, but I recognize that it can be challenging since a lot of dance classes and rehearsals often happen late at night.
2. Create a Relaxing Sleep Environment
Creating a relaxing sleep environment can help promote quality sleep. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet, and make sure your mattress and pillows are comfortable and supportive. Consider using blackout curtains, earplugs, or white noise machines to block out distractions.
When I lived in Ktown in Los Angeles I had the biggest window between my bed and my fireescape – but no curtains for a very long time. I loved waking up with the sun around 5 or 5.30 every morning. But on days where I went to bed at 12, 1 or even 2 in the morning I would stil wake up at 5.30´ because of the sun and only get a few hours of sleep.
And that’s not healthy. Therefore I use black-out curtains every time I go to bed late so I can get the hours I need, but sleep without the blackout curtains when I go to bed at 9.30pm.
3. Limit Screen Time Before Bed
The blue light emitted by electronic devices can interfere with your body’s natural sleep rhythms. Try to limit your screen time in the hours leading up to bedtime, and consider using a blue light filter on your devices. Additionally, avoid watching TV or using your phone or computer in bed.
We all know this. You know it, I know it – and we still do it. I can still do so much better on this one.
4. Practice Relaxation Techniques
Practicing relaxation techniques before bed can help calm your mind and promote quality sleep. Consider practicing deep breathing, meditation, or stretching. Additionally, taking a warm bath or shower before bed can help relax your body and prepare you for sleep.
I roll out my yoga mat, light some candles on the floor in front of me, put my phone far away, listen to a podcast and stretch. Then I lay there with my eyes closed for a few minutes and YES, more often than not I accidentally fall asleep on the mat. So if the goal is to wind down, I think it’s working.
5. Nap when needed
When I worked in Dubai for a few months, I started taking naps very seriously. For the first time I had to adapt to a new sleep schedule because of work. 6 nights a week I showed up for hair and makup at 6pm, did the show, returned to the apartment around 2 AM, ate dinner and went to bed around 3 AM.
Therefore I started napping in the afternoon. If you’re not a natural napper like me, I highly recommend putting on a 10, 15 or 20 minute guided meditation podcast to help you relax and fall asleep and reduce fatigue for the rest of the day. It literally changed my daily life in Dubai.
(Watch a little Dubai vlog here !)
6. Journaling and to-do lists before bed
Emptying my brain completely by writing thoughts, feelings, ideas, things I have to do tomorrow, a song I just remembered that I want to create to etc. etc. is ESSENTIAL for me to avoid overthinking while I’m trying to fall asleep.
Try to keep a journal and a pen next to your bed and empty your brain on a piece of paper before you turn off the light and see what happens.
(Maybe you’ll also like “Overthinking – Easy steps to get out of your head” read it here!)
7. Replace lamps with candles at night
Nights are strictly for candles and string lights in my little Hollywood studio apartment.
Our bodies run on a 24-hour internal clock and melatonin is a hormone that sends a signal to the brain: “HEY, the day is done, it’s time for sleep!“. Melatonin is produced as a response to darkness and helps your body relax.
There are literally so many studies about how bright light at night supresses melatonin in your brain. Bright light at night tells your body to be alert which is not healthy. That is also why we need to limit the screentime at night. The bright light disrupts your melatonin levels.
So using candles at night instead of artificial lighting can help your brain wind down.
8. Take magnesium supplements
If you skipped #7 this is not gonna make sense, so go back and read.
Good. Moving on.
Magnesium is a mineral that is needed to produce melatonin. Melatonin is needed to get quality sleep. Therefore it can be very helpful to look into magnesium supplements as a part of your daily routine.
9. Exercise
Regular exercise can help promote quality sleep by reducing stress and promoting relaxation. Aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes per day (dancers, I know you excercise way more than that, so this is more like a general thing), but avoid exercising too close to bedtime, as this can interfere with your sleep. I personally haven’t had this problem, since the exhaustion from training makes me pass out faster than anything else, but a lot of my friends have had that issue.
Remember – everything about you is unique
From the way you look, to your journey, to how your body function – it’s all individual. So please don’t look at this post as facts or a set to-do-list, but use it to reflect on your own habits and maybe let it inspire you to try out different things when it comes to your night-routine.
It sounds dramatic, but your life and quality of life literally depends on it.
Stick to a sleep schedule, create a relaxing sleep environment, limit screen time before bed, practice relaxation techniques, avoid stimulants, maybe journal or nap, exercise regularly to help promote quality sleep and wake up feeling more refreshed and energized.
xx
Matilda
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