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I fell down a rabbit hole of weird sleep hacks.
I became obsessed with mycircadian rhythmand avoided anything that could stop me from falling asleep.
These arent quick fixes, but they are worth the effort.
Create a sleep schedule and stick to it
I hated this sleep hygiene tip at first.
And considering how I wasnt sleeping well at night, my wake-ups were late morning at best.
MY EXPERIENCE
The first day was pure misery.
I was so tired I cried.
On the fourth night I passed out as soon as my head touched the pillow.
I still follow a sleep schedule.
Could it really work for adults too?
My original bedtime routine was too long.
At over 90 minutes it dominated the evening and it was causing me sleep anxiety.
So I cut it in half.
Most experts recommend starting your routine 30-60 minutes before bed anyway.
My routine started with a warm shower and ended with adeep sleep guided meditation.
Bedtime routines help create sleep cues for your brain to learn.
So if Sudoku in bed is your biggest sleep aid, go for it.
Our favorite technique for when were unable to sleep iscognitive shuffling.
Schedule worry time for early in the day
Insomnia trashed my mood.
I worried constantly and carried all that stress into the bedroom at night.
She told me to have worry time elsewhere in my home and early in the day.
In other words, keep it out of the bedroom at night.
Research showsthat stress makes it harder for you to fall asleep, plus it leads to frequent night wakings.
A highly cited2003 studyalso found that anxiety and insomnia go hand in hand.
Worry time, also known as worry postponement, is a strategy developed by Dr Thomas Borkovec in 1983.
Itreduces your triggersfor worrying down to just one time a day and crucially, far away from bedtime.
How your bedroom affects your sleep
Sleep hygiene involves more than just those three tips outlined above.
There are lots of free services available too, including the following:
