Psych for Life®

Sleep Improvement Module – Part 7 of 12 – Why should you establish a bedtime routine

00;00;00;03 – 00;00;19;09
Kate
Welcome back. After years of not being a great sleeper, I take my bedtime routine very seriously. It starts out by turning on my fan to cool off my room, and that gives a little bit of white noise. I also invested in an alarm clock that has a light associated with it. The cues, the body, when to wake and when to sleep.

00;00;19;22 – 00;00;31;01
Kate
I set the alarm for 15 minutes so the light is bright and is slowly going to dim over 15 minutes. That gives me about 10 minutes to read my book. And usually by the time the light is out, I’m fast asleep.

00;00;33;26 – 00;00;57;00
Kate
There are habits that can help you get better sleep. There are also many steps you can take to help you improve your sleep environment. Focusing on relaxation before bedtime can help you wind down so you fall asleep faster. You can set up a bedtime routine where you create a soothing environment and do one or two activities every night before bed, such as reading, meditating, or listening to music.

00;00;57;13 – 00;01;21;15
Kate
Taking a warm bath before bed has also been shown to improve sleep quality because it lowers your body temperature, which makes it easier to fall asleep. An obvious tip is to keep your bedroom as dark as possible when you’re sleeping. Studies have shown that even a small amount of light in your room can disrupt your sleep. So close the shades and maybe even consider investing in blackout curtains.

00;01;21;16 – 00;01;44;19
Kate
So not a single ray of light can disrupt your snooze time. Your bedroom’s temperature may also be preventing you from falling asleep quickly and may be disrupting your sleep Turn down the thermostat at night to keep your room in a cooler temperature and it will help you fall asleep and stay asleep. You may also want to try a white noise generator or something that makes a simple sound throughout the night.

00;01;46;03 – 00;02;09;21
Kate
Another tip is to keep all screens out of the bedroom. Electronic devices such as cell phones and televisions emit a blue light which disrupts melatonin production. The chemical that makes us sleepy. This means moving the TV outside the bedroom and using an electronic alarm clock instead of our cell phones, which can be a big distraction when you’re supposed to be sleeping.

00;02;10;20 – 00;02;22;17
Kate
Of course, having a comfortable mattress and pillow can only help improve your sleep. You might want to try playing around with different blanket configurations to get the right weight and coziness to optimize your sleep.

Audio Only Version

Why should you establish a Bedtime Routine?

Focusing on relaxation before bedtime will help you wind down so you can fall asleep faster.

You can set up a bedtime routine where you create a soothing environment and do one or two activities every night before bed, such as reading, meditating, or listening to music.

Taking a warm bath before bed has also been shown to improve sleep quality because it lowers your body temperature which makes it easier to fall asleep.

What if you can't fall asleep?

Move on to the next video

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Meet Kate

Kate Gigax is our host in this module and she helps coach habit building professionally. She founded a consultancy to help build better leaders who live bigger versions of their lives. 

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What if you can't fall asleep?

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