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Kate
So now we’ve just covered a lot of science backed tips to get better sleep. But for some of us, we might feel like that incorporates changing everything we do and everything we eat and when we eat it. So how do we go about improving our sleep without feeling overwhelmed? In the next section, we’re going to recap what we’ve already covered.

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Kate
And then we’re going to move on to help you determine which strategies are going to work best for you.

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Kate
Tip one Establish a sleep schedule by waking up and going to bed at the same time every day. Weekends included tip two during the day. Expose yourself to sunlight. Get some exercise and avoid taking naps after 2 p.m. to optimize your sleep. Tip three Caffeine should be avoided 6 hours before sleep and try to avoid alcohol one to 2 hours before bed.

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Kate
Tip four Set up a relaxing bedtime routine where you engage in activities that help you wind down from the day, reading, meditation and taking a bath or great things to try. You can also try eating foods that promote better sleep, such as milk, fatty fish and tart cherries. Tip five Keep your bedroom dark and cool. Keep all screens outside of the bedroom or at least turn them off before bed.

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Kate
Since light from screens can disrupt our natural sleep wake cycle. Tip six If you have a hard time falling asleep, try journaling before bed or do a deep breathing exercise to quiet any anxious thoughts. These exercise will also help you fall back asleep if you wake up in the middle of the night. Lastly, tip seven in the morning, avoid pressing that snooze button, get some sunlight exposure and if you drink coffee or caffeine have it early and take your time.

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Kate
Morning. Exercise is another great way to start your day off, right? And it will have the added benefits of boosting your mood and making it. More likely you’ll stick to other healthy habits the rest of the day. Let’s walk through how to slowly improve your bedtime routine so you’re choosing things that work with your lifetime. We’ll also talk about how to track progress so you know what’s working and you can keep improving We don’t want getting better sleep to be a source of stress or anxiety.

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Kate
So we’re going to take this one step at a time. We’re going to start with one thing you might want to look at your sleep diary to determine what that one thing is for you. Maybe you have a particular issue you want to start with. If not consider starting with your sleep and wake time to make that as consistent as possible.

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Kate
You might want to start with when you wake up in the morning. For most of us, we have a particular time. We need to be awake in order to start the day’s activities. Whether that’s getting kids ready for school or getting ourselves ready for work or whatever the day may entail. Once you’ve established the time you need to wake up in the morning, you can work backward to determine the time you need to be going to bed in order to get enough sleep over the course of the night.

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Kate
Wherever you are choosing to begin, that’s going to be our focus for the next two weeks so we can get some practice and build some momentum. So use your sleep diary to track your sleep. Make sure to be doing it seven days a week. And even if you miss a day or two, just keep going. Once you’ve been able to stick to implementing one sleep tip fairly consistently, it might be time to add another tip into your sleep routine.

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Kate
A great way to boost your motivation and hold yourself accountable is to do this with a partner. This will allow you to talk about the changes you’re making. Make any changes that aren’t working and compare notes. You might even want to plan a fun activity like a morning walk together that works with your sleep routine so you can keep each other on track.

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Kate
Keep trying and don’t give up because sleep is probably the most important thing you could be doing to increase your health and overall well-being. Getting better sleep will pay off. You’ll be happier, healthier and better able to face the challenges of the day.