Having trouble sleeping? We’ve got you covered with 7 tips to help you sleep like a rock. It can be easy to fall into the pattern of poor sleep and exhausted days. Perhaps it starts with a bad event, a phase of stress, or seemingly nothing at all. Before you know it, you’re lying in bed awake and dragging during the day.
The good news is that the pattern is reversible, even if the problem is severe or has been going on for a long time. We have helped thousands of people turn sleepless nights and tired, unproductive days into sound slumber at night and thriving days. The tips described in this article are a great place to start… and there’s more. We’ll guide you through the 7 tips, and then we’ll help you with more.
Hard truth: sometimes more is needed to improve sleep, more than information and tips that can be read in an article. You can still learn to sleep like a rock.
Yes, the tips can help, but they’re not the only answer. I’m being upfront about this because my goal for writing the article is to get you the great sleep you need and deserve. If these tips are not enough, it’s completely okay. Don’t lose hope because there is much, much more available to you. More on that later. For now, just try the tips below. If it’s not enough for you, we will provide more information for what will work.
Have you already tried everything, and nothing has worked? Click here to skip ahead to the scientifically-proven, award-winning, most in-depth and comprehensive sleep program.
Now, you may be someone who doesn’t need anything more than these seven tips. Hopefully you can be one who implements the tips and changes your sleep and you life, like so many others have done. We’re rooting for you!
7 Tips to Sleep Like a Rock:
1. Manage stress throughout the day.
Do you have an active or wandering mind at night? Are you a worrier, perfectionist, or driven achiever? Do you have a high-pace job or stressful personal situation? Have you been facing a rough patch or big challenge? Are you trying to make a big decision? These are all signs or risk factors of stress, and stress can wreak havoc on sleep.
One of the best ways to sleep better at night is to manage stress – not just right before bed, but throughout the day as well. So, be honest with yourself, how’s your stress level? What are some things that relieve stress for you? How often are you doing those things?
Perhaps you’re thinking you don’t have time for stress relief or it’s too hard. Consider that stress relief will help you to sleep better, feel better, be more productive, and save time. In reality you don’t have time not to relieve stress.
Stress relief won’t take away all the stressful or negative situations in life, but it can change the way the mind and body react to the situations. It can help to clear the mind and make strategic thinking much easier. It can help with managing emotions and maintaining overall health, and of course help you to sleep like a rock. Sleep helps all these areas as well, so the benefits are exponential.
2. Create and stick to a sleep routine.
Sleep routines serve as a signal to the brain that it’s time to get sleepy. It actually helps to naturally increase melatonin levels before bedtime, especially when the first step of the routine is to dim the lights. (No, we absolutely do NOT recommend taking melatonin supplements.)
Click below to read all about how to create the best sleep routine to fall asleep and stay asleep.
When used in combination with other sleep strategies, sleep routines can be revolutionary. For an added bonus, it’s strongly encouraged to get other family members or housemates on board. This can increase bonding, strengthen relationships, reduce disagreements and arguments, and help get everyone on the same page with optimal health and wellbeing.
3. Clear your mind and get deeply relaxed before going to bed.
An active mind, lots of thoughts, and stress are like enemies to quality sleep. Do you ever lie in bed awake thinking, worrying, or stressing? Even if the thoughts are positive, like an exciting upcoming event, they can still interfere with sleep. Consider a child anticipating a trip to Disney World – it would probably be an added challenge to get them to sleep. Adults are the same, even those who can fall asleep relatively quickly.
If the mind and body are not relaxed before going to sleep, they remain ‘on’ during sleep, preventing quality sleep. Take some time to clear the mind and relax the body before bed by journaling, talking to someone, stretching, or something else that works for you.
If the random thoughts or active mind is an issue, keep a notebook next to the bed. Write your important thoughts before bed, as you’re trying to fall asleep, and if you wake up in the night. For the less important thoughts, simply acknowledge them and send them on their way. You can do this by taking deep breaths, telling your mind to calm, or visualizing the thoughts floating away.
4. Get out of bed if you are unable to sleep.
This may sound counter-productive, but it is important, and it’s a step in the right direction. Get out of bed if you are unable to fall asleep within 10 or 15 minutes. It doesn’t have to be exact so there’s no need to look at a clock. If it feels like it has been a while, get out of bed.
Lying in bed awake trains the brain that the bed is a place to be awake. It invites all the thoughts, and reinforces worrying, stressing, and thinking in bed. If hopping in bed if like flipping a switch for a waterfall of thoughts in the ‘on’ position, this is for you. It’s possible to retrain the brain to sleep like a rock in bed and have all the best thoughts in the morning or during the day.
When your brain is active or you have a lot of thoughts (good or bad) in bed, get out of bed. Sit in a chair next to the bed or arrange pillows on the floor. Keep the lights off and get deeply relaxed. When you feel ready to fall asleep get back in bed. Repeat this process until you fall asleep. Do the same thing if you wake up in the middle of the night and are unable to return to sleep. This trains the brain to sleep in bed, not think or worry or be awake.
5. Cut back or eliminate caffeine and alcohol.
Caffeine and alcohol interfere with sleep, even when it seems there is no impact, and even when it seems to help with pre-sleep relaxation. Both caffeine and alcohol prevent the brain from effectively going through the necessary sleep cycles, decreasing sleep quality. If you must have some caffeine or alcohol, try to keep the quantities as low as possible, and try to stop as early as possible. Yes, day drinking is better for sleep than a night cap. Make sure caffeine and alcohol is completely out of your system before the time your sleep routine is scheduled to begin.
Try to limit caffeine and alcohol to no more than one drink per day if you aren’t ready to cut them out completely. Take small sips and spread them out as opposed to drinking fast. Finish all caffeine before lunch and finish all alcohol before dinner. If you drink caffeine or alcohol daily try cutting it out one day per week, then two… until you are only drinking it one day per week or less.
6. Work hard and play hard.
Exert energy during the day. This can include working the mind, physical activity, or preferably both. Using the body and mind help to wear them out and get them ready for sleep. Use the time between waking up and eating dinner as an opportunity to exert mental and physical power.
Allow dinner to separate day from night. This serves as a way to create a transition from activity to relaxation, and eventually sleep. The process and trains the brain that pre-dinner time is the time to have a lot of energy, and post-dinner time is the time to get sleepy. Keeping the general daily pattern not only helps to improve sleep at night but also decreases sleepiness during the day.
Be patient because the process can take a few weeks to notice results.
7. Take sort breaks and disconnect during the day.
This one may seem contradictory to the last, but it’s not. Exerting energy during the day doesn’t mean it needs to be done without breaks. On the contrary, it’s important to take breaks throughout the day to prevent stress levels from rising too high. This includes breaks from work, breaks to disconnect from electronics or negativity, and breaks to ground yourself. Monitor your mind and body throughout the day. When you feel yourself getting too wound up or starting to feel negative in any way, take a break.
Pause to do something relaxing for you, something positive, something to calmly boost your mood. Walks in nature can be a great activity, or even just opening a window for some fresh air. It may even be something as simple as taking a deep breath or two and focusing on calming your mind and body. This is an example that takes only seconds. Find things that work for you to feel good, to feel calm, and make the time to do them.
You can take this a step farther if you feel short breaks are not enough to unwind all the way. You may benefit from taking an afternoon or full day off to relax once per month, a long weekend per quarter, or a full week once or twice per year.
What do you do if these tips don’t work and you still can’t sleep like a rock?
Okay so here’s the deal: these tips may not work, but that doesn’t mean nothing will work.
Hint, hint: we know something will work and you can sleep like a rock. However, we won’t paint a fantasy or try to convince you of a magic pill that doesn’t exist. Sometimes more is needed than some tips that can be read in a blog. There is no one-size-fits-all perfect solution.
The good news is that there is a more in-depth and comprehensive method for those who need more than jus tips and advice, those who need real solutions to more long-standing, severe, or complicated sleep challenges. Yes, even you can sleep like a rock.
Absolutely try all the tips and tricks available here. Hopefully they help. If not, or if not enough, our RESTED program was created for you. We will guide you to great sleep with our proven system customized to your needs. Click here to learn more.
Summary:
It’s easy to fall into a pattern of poor sleep and exhausted days. It’s also reversible, even if the problem is severe or has been an issue for a long time. The seven tips described above can help to get things back on track so you can sleep like a rock, consistently. However, it may take time to start seeing results. Do the best you can and be patient with the process. If you feel it isn’t working, seek help from a qualified professional.
7 Tips to Sleep Like a Rock:
- Manage stress throughout the day.
- Create and stick to a sleep routine.
- Clear your mind and get deeply relaxed before going to bed.
- Get out of bed if you are unable to sleep.
- Cut back or eliminate caffeine and alcohol.
- Work hard and play hard.
- Take breaks and disconnect.
Need more help to sleep like a rock? Click here and we will guide you every step of the way.
Know you will need more than these 7 tips?
This blog post relates to seven (seven tips to sleep like a rock). Here are some more blog posts related to the word “seven” (but not about how to get better sleep) from other sites:
Seven Reasons I Love Living in the Czech Republic
7 Things to Remember When You Are Feeling Overwhelmed
Seven Easy to Follow Tips for Reading the Bible
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