2 am Thoughts? Ways to Improve Your Sleep

I find it hard to fall asleep sometimes, especially when it’s a busy week and I have a lot to think about. What’s my schedule like tomorrow? Am I done all my readings? I often find myself lying in bed with my eyes wide open. Luckily, I’ve been using new tricks to help me calm down and sleep well, so I thought I would share them with you in this blog! 🙂 Plan ahead: One of the ways I try to avoid over-thinking while I’m in bed is to do all my thinking before bed. Before I go to sleep, I’ll write down my schedule for the next day and what I need to get done. This way, when I get in bed, I won’t need to spend time worrying about what I need to get done the next day. Reading before bed: A couple of people have been recommending me to read for leisure before bed to help me sleep faster. Key word: leisure. I’ve tried doing some readings before bed and it didn’t really work because if I don’t finish my readings before bed, I’ll start thinking about how much work I still have to do. Instead, reading for leisure helps me forget about my schoolwork, which helps me sleep faster! Lavender: Upon researching what scents help people sleep better, all of them recommend one scent in particular: lavender! Lavender is said to help you relax and de-stress, making you sleep better. I’ve been using lavender essential oils before bed because I can use my diffuser to fill my room with the calming scent.

Avoid naps: I’ve noticed that if I take naps during the day, it affects my sleep at night. When I skip my GO train naps, I seem to be able to sleep faster, perhaps it’s just because I’m really tired at that point! I’ve only tried this a couple of times, but it seems to work! Don’t stress out: I have a habit of excessively checking the time whenever I can’t fall asleep. But when I do this, I start to panic as I realize it’s been half an hour and I’m still wide awake. To make matter worse, I begin to mentally calculate how much sleep I will get if I sleep exactly in 10 mins, making me more awake. It’s an unhealthy cycle that gets me nowhere, so lately I got rid of my clock all together and instead, used my watch as an alarm. This stops me from clock watching and reduces my anxiety so that I’m able to just focus on sleeping. Lately, I’m happy to say that I have been sleeping faster and better than I normally do. Sleep is really important to me because it keeps me re-energized and healthy. I hope everyone is able to get some good rest! 🙂