Whether you need a solid eight hours of shut eye or six is plenty for you, figuring out exactly what you need to get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling refreshed is about trial and error and being in tune with what does and doesn’t work for you. While you’re awake you have to deal with work commitments, your social life and all the demands of being a well-rounded adult—and consistently getting enough sleep will make all that a lot easier. Seriously. Make sleep a priority and you’ll notice getting through the day doesn’t feel like the chore it used to.
So how do you make sure you get all the sleep you need when stress, lifestyle changes and just lack of time threaten to keep you up all night? Here are a few tips that might help:
Get the right mattress
Notice how you rarely sleep as well in a hotel bed or in someone’s guest room as you do at home in your own bed? That’s because you picked out your particular bed for a reason and it goes without saying that the mattress, pillows and bedding you choose are going to have a monumental impact on your sleep quality. Do you usually sleep on your back, your side, or your stomach? Do you tend to get hot in the night or always feel too cold? Do you need lots of back support or do you prefer to feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud? All these things can help you determine what type of mattress is the best for you.
Luckily, companies like Endy allow you to try out a mattress for 100 days and return it if it’s not working out for you. You should have some idea of the level of firmness you prefer, but it also takes time to get used to a new bed and be sure that you’re consistently sleeping well.
Comfortable bedding
The bedding you choose should depend on how warm you like to be at night, taking the season and the temperature in your home into consideration. You might want flannel sheets and a big comforter in the winter but switch to thin cotton sheets and a light blanket in the summer. Once you find the right mattress, it’s easy to switch out your bedding according to seasonal preference. You don’t have to sweat it out with a thick duvet in the middle of August.
A good bed time routine
What you do before bed is just as important as what you do in bed. As hard as it might seem, turning off all screens and electronic devices an hour before you plan to go to sleep can help you start to wind down. Use that hour to drink some tea, do your before bed grooming and read a chapter of a book or listen to some music. It also helps to get up around the same time every day and avoid mid-day naps so when you go to bed at night you’re actually tired and don’t end up tossing and turning for hours.
Some people like listening to a mediation before bed to help them clear their mind. Apps like Headspace, Calm, and The Mindfulness App provide guided meditations to use throughout the day and to relax you before bed. That way you can put the stress of the day out of your mind, sleep peacefully and wake up refreshed.
Ideal sleeping conditions
In addition to the right bedding, everyone requires certain conditions to get the best night’s sleep. Some people need complete darkness, others prefer a little light. The temperature of your room will play a role in how well you sleep too. A fan can help if it’s a little too warm and the white noise can drown out any other sounds that might keep you awake like the traffic outside or a ticking clock.
One of the biggest (and most common) things that can cause sleep disruptions is trying to adjust to the habits of another person. If your significant other prefers the room to be warm, snores, or likes to fall asleep with the TV on, that can seriously affect your sleep quality. It takes take to get used to someone else’s routine, but it’s also not mandatory to sleep in the same bed as your significant other. Plenty of couples have separate bedrooms and they do just fine. If it means you both get the sleep you need, it’s worth it.
