what to do today,
to sleep better tonight
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Sleep.
We all know we need it, but how many of us get a solid eight hours each night?! But, you know, the thing that annoys me about that question is that so many of the people I work with know they need eight hours of slumber, but they can't get it; their simply isn't the time, or their mind is whirling so much they can't nod off.
So, this is five practical, actually useful things that you can do today to works towards a full night's sleep, tonight. I'm sure you'll be familiar with some of them, but a handy reminder can be super useful, right?
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Five things to do today to sleep better tonight
Sleeping better doesn’t begin only when your head touches the pillow. What you do during the day can help create conditions that support sleep later. So, here are five practical things you can try today.
1. Be mindful of afternoon caffeine
Caffeine can remain in the body for several hours, and people vary considerably in how sensitive they are to it. A coffee or caffeinated drink later in the day may therefore make it harder to settle at night.
If sleep is difficult for you, experiment with avoiding caffeine after midday to see if it makes a difference.
2. Reduce bright light in the evening
Light helps regulate your body clock. Bright light - such as the light from phones and other screens - can make it harder for the body and brain to understand that it’s getting on for bedtime.
You could try dimming the lights, using your device’s night settings or putting your phone down for a while before bed.
3. Get some daylight during the day
Daylight helps your body distinguish daytime from nighttime and supports the natural rhythm that influences when you feel alert and sleepy.
Open the curtains when you wake, sit near a bright window or, even better, spend some time outside. A walk outside gives you daylight and movement at the same time. Boom!
4. Move your body
Regular movement can be super for sleep as well as your overall physical and mental wellbeing. It doesn’t need to be an intense workout: walking, yoga or another form of movement that feels appropriate for you all count.
Listen to your body and choose something that suits your health, energy and circumstances.
5. Give your mind time to process the day
Sometimes thoughts arrive the moment your head reaches the pillow because they haven’t had much space during the day.
Try giving yourself at least three minutes to notice and process what is on your mind. You could journal, meditate, write tomorrow’s to-do list, talk to someone you trust or simply reflect while walking or showering.
And bonus point!
6. Yoga Nidra
Treat yourself to a yummy night time Yoga Nidra to help you nod off. If you’d like a guided practice to use once you’re settled in bed, try my 20-minute guided Yoga Nidra for deep sleep.
transcript - What to do today to sleep better tonight
Sleep. We all know we need it, but how many of us get enough?
And you know, the thing that annoys me, that keeps me awake, if you will, about this [00:01:00] question is that most of the people I work with, they know they need their eight hours of beauty sleep each night, but they just-- they can't seem to get it, usually because of one of two reasons.
One, that there just isn't the time. By the time we've worked, made dinner, cleaned up, put the washing out, checked in on aging parents, got any dependents to bed, having brushed their teeth and had a lovely story. Relaxed a little bit, caught up with friends. There just isn't eight hours available before we've got to be up tomorrow morning.
The other main reason is that there is the eight hours of potential time in bed, but once our head hits the pillow, every worry you've ever had in all of your years thinks, "Oh, this is the best possible moment to come to the forefront of your mind." So rather than [00:02:00] making yet another thing saying, "Hmm, do you know you should be getting eight hours of sleep every single night?"
Which you know, and I know, and everyone flipping well knows. I wanted to look at what practical, actual useful things we can do today to work towards better sleep tonight So here's five simple things, and you probably already know a few of them, but a handy reminder might be just what you need.
And if you want to know more or you'd like a bit more support with your sleep, I have a free workshop coming up, Yoga for Sleep. Save your seat to join me live or to get sent the recording because in that workshop,
we'll look at what tools, practices, and knowledge exist within yoga to help us drift off to dreamland each and every night. So here's five simple things you can do today. [00:03:00] One, reduce your caffeine intake. Caffeine has a half-life of between six and eight hours.
so if you have a coffee at 3:00 PM, by 9:00 PM, half of that coffee is still in your system, which will certainly affect the ability to fall asleep. Ideally, aim for no caffeine after midday to allow the caffeine chance to leave your system and to allow melatonin levels, that's affectionately known as our sleep hormone, to rise.
Two, reduce blue light. when our eyes see blue light, our brain thinks, "Oh, daytime," and reduces the production of melatonin, which as we know, is the sleep hormone. You can use yellow glasses, you can use the nighttime settings on your phone or, you know, you can just put your phone down.[00:04:00]
But reducing blue light will really help your brain realize what time of day it is. Which brings us to three, get daylight during the day. This serves to help reset any body clocks that are a bit, like, out of whack from late nights, early mornings, being a bit overwhelmed, trouble sleeping, et cetera. You can sit by a window or get out for a walk or a run.
Four, do some exercise. Obviously, listen to your body. Don't push too hard, et cetera, et cetera. But if you can and if you feel up to it, move your body. The benefits are- Endless, really. More on that another day.
And five, reset your stress levels. it might be that your mind starts whirling [00:05:00] when your head hits the pillow because it's not had an opportunity to process all of the thoughts during the day due to busyness. So if you can today, take at least three minutes, more if you can, to process your thoughts. You could do this on your walk. How efficient would that be?
You'd be moving your body, getting your daylight, and processing your thoughts. You could journal, you could meditate. There's a link to a guided meditation on my Insight Timer in the show notes. You could process your thoughts in a shower, write a to-do list, talk to a trusted friend. Whatever it is that helps you consolidate, even just a little bit, the things that are on your mind today so that it doesn't need to do it tonight.
So that's it, yogis. Five simple things you can do today to work towards better sleep tonight. Reduce your [00:06:00] caffeine, reduce blue light, get daylight during the day, move your body, and process your mental activity. I wish you a wonderful eight-hour long slumber. And don't forget, grab your spot at my free workshop, Yoga for Sleep, where I'll explain what's going on with sleep and then what useful tools we have from yoga That could genuinely help you get deeper sleep.
As ever, if you have any questions or you'd like personalised help with your specific situation, get in touch. And as always, happy practising!