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5 New Year’s Resolutions for Better Sleep
It’s that time again, folks! The new year is right around the corner. And with the new year comes everyone’s favorite part of the calendar year ending : New Year’s resolutions! There will be millions of resolutions made this year, but one of the most important parts of your life that is often ignored that could use some serious focus is SLEEP.
Sleep is such a key part of our existence and a good portion of the population pays little to no attention on how it can affect their life, their physical health, and their mental well-being. If you are looking for new year resolution ideas, we suggest that you make getting the proper amount of sleep a priority! Take a look below at our 5 New Year’s Resolutions for Better Sleep!
Redesign Your Room for the New Year
The ideal place to sleep is some place that’s cool, quiet, dark, and comfortable. Adding some black out curtains to your room can help reduce the light from passing cars or street lamps. Do you find yourself waking up at night hot and sweaty? You can try adding a fan to help you cool off and make sure that you have cool, low thread count sheets that breathe and keep temperatures down.
Are you sleeping on a comfortable mattress? Many people will be tossing and turning for years before realizing that their old mattress needs to be replaced. It’s ⅓ of your life that you spend in bed; Why spend it uncomfortably! Having the right pillows plays a pivotal role in sleeping as well. If you find yourself constantly waking up to fluff your pillow or fold it in half, you may have the wrong pillow for your sleeping type.
If you are a side sleeper and you are using a stomach sleeper pillow, that can cause some serious issues with your sleep! Your goal is to set yourself up for the best night’s sleep possible and being uncomfortable is not going to help you achieve that solid 8 hours.
Get a Sleep Schedule for the New Year
Do you go to bed every night at the same time and wake up at the same time everyday, even on the weekends? If the answer to that question is no, that would be part of your sleep deficit. With life pulling us in so many directions, it’s so hard to really stick to a schedule. Parents always have activities going on: One kid has dance, the other has soccer, dinner has to be made, laundry has to be done, and somewhere in there you have to find time to yourself. That usually happens at night when everything is done and it can keep you up much later than you should be staying awake.
If you can work on getting some of those tasks done a bit earlier and getting more efficient with your time, you can have a little extra binge watching time at the end of the night that doesn’t cut into sleep time. So let the scheduling begin!
My New Year’s Resolution: Cut Down on Screen Time
It’s so tempting to lay in bed and scroll through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and/or watch funny cat videos on YouTube. It turns out that it actually hinders you trying to fall asleep!
Sleep specialists say we should limit our screen time and stop subjecting ourselves to bright lights for two hours before bed. They suggest listening to an audiobook, popping in some relaxing music, or reading. The more relaxed you are, the easier it is to slip into that nice night of sleep that you and your body are desperately after.
One important note: If you tend to get up once or twice during the night, you need to avoid turning on all of the lights as it can drastically affect your ability to go back to sleep. If you need a little light to get to the bathroom or to the kitchen for a late night snack, make sure you use dim lighting.
We suggest installing small, inexpensive nightlights around the house that will make it much easier to get where you’re going and to fall back asleep easily.
Want Better Sleep for the New Year? Get Some Exercise
Let’s face it: More exercise is probably the #1 New Year’s resolution that people make for the new year. But aside from just getting you in shape, you get a sort of healthy "2 for 1 deal". By getting more exercise, you are setting yourself up for sleeping better! People who exercise regularly sleep better at night and feel less sleepy during the day. Regular exercise improves the symptoms of insomnia, sleep apnea, and increases the amount of time you spend in the deep, restorative stages of sleep.
It is important to time your exercise correctly though; You should finish your moderate to vigorous workout 3-4 hours before bed. Exercising too close to bedtime can actually keep you awake!
Eating Badly, Drinking, Smoking=Loss of Sleep
You should be mindful of the food and drink that you are putting in your body before going to sleep. Did you know that caffeine can cause sleep disruptions 10 to 12 hours after consumption? If you are not sleeping well at night, find some alternatives to replace that afternoon cup of coffee. It could be affecting you 10 hours later! You will wake up groggy and drink more coffee to stay awake and on and on and on goes the vicious cycle.
Nicotine is also a stimulant, which can disrupt sleep as well. Using tobacco or nicotine products right before bed can disrupt your sleep, so limit your intake before bedtime.
What you are eating can be a factor as well. Eating lots of sugar and refined carbs such as white bread, white rice, and pasta in the evening can trigger wakefulness at night. And, when it comes to alcohol helping you to go to sleep, you may be doing more harm than good. Alcohol may help you get to sleep, but it may cause you to wake up often throughout the night and can generally cause you to have a rough and tumble night of tossing and turning. All natural sleep is a much better solution!
We hope that you are able to apply some of our 5 New Year's Resolutions for Better Sleep to your life to get you to bed quicker and help you get the rest that your body truly needs!
Do you have any New Year’s Resolution Ideas to help get better sleep? Comment below!
