I’ve never been a good sleeper.
With a vivid imagination, history of social anxiety and an unhealthy social media habit, I have traditionally stayed up way too late, either numbing myself mindlessly scrolling or ruminating over social blunders. (I’d be the quip queen if only I had ten hours to come up with them.)
That all changed last November. As I noted in my previous post, during my Just say NO-vember Challenge, I set myself two daily goals related to sleep: a 10pm bedtime and a bedroom ban on my smartphone.
These were in addition to five other health goals that I thought would make the most difference. But as it turned out, finally getting some proper sleep has been positively life changing.
In that post I declared myself a born-again Morning Person, and I’m happy to report that – three whole weeks later – this is still the case.
So now that I’m an expert, I feel compelled to share my wisdom. My Five Essential Tips for Good Night’s Sleep are listed below.
1. A lullaby playlist
An excellent night’s sleep begins with a proper wind down. Dimming the lights and listening to this lullaby playlist is a great way to calm down as you wash your face, brush your teeth and do whatever you need to prepare for the next morning.
2. A silk eye mask
Wearing a sleep mask not only blocks out light and visual distractions, but like a weighted blanket, it feels secure and calming. I now wear it whenever I have an early flight; the association with bedtime means I easily catch another hour’s sleep on the plane from Melbourne to Sydney. I don’t even care that I’m that passenger. I use this one from Lilysilk.
3. Taping your lips closed
Hear me out here! If you wake up with a dry mouth or sore throat, you may be a mouth breather in your sleep. While this is nothing to be ashamed of, training yourself to breathe through your nose will help you sleep and improve your health in general.
I learned about nose breathing and lip taping from James Nestor’s book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.
The benefits of nasal breathing have been known since ancient times, but modern science is now starting to confirm them. Breathing through the nose filters and humidifies air, removes particles and pathogens, and releases nitric oxide. This helps us fight off pathogens and viruses, which is top of mind for people these days.
By nose breathing, we get about 20% more oxygen than if we breathe through our mouths. Nose breaths are also deeper, which helps us to relax for sleep.
I promise you won’t look like a kidnapping victim: a 2cm square of micropore tape is all you need to secure your lips together. You should still be able to cough or talk (albeit awkwardly). It’s simply to train yourself to breathe through your nose instead of your mouth.
4. A smartphone ban in the bedroom
This is simple, yet surprisingly effective. By removing the temptation to scroll, bedtime now means bedtime instead of getting lured into messages or mindless shopping.
I invested in a Sony alarm clock radio which has a battery backup feature in case the power is cut during the night.
It’s so nice not to reach for the phone first thing in the morning. I now go to bed looking forward to the peaceful hours of the early morning. Instead of scrolling, I now make myself a coffee and read or plan my day. It’s been huge for my mental health and productivity.
5. A guided sleep meditation
If you struggle to fall asleep because of a racing mind, a guided meditation may be perfect for you. It talks you through each part of your body so you consciously relax your face, your neck, your shoulders and so on.
This one on Insight Timer is spoken by Andrew Johnson, who has the most soothing and delightful Scottish accent. I like to imagine that it’s William Wallace lulling me to slumber – and who couldn’t sleep soundly with Braveheart on their side??
(Insight Timer has loads of other free guided sleep meditations if you’re not a Braveheart fan.)
While I’ve found all five tips above incredibly useful, a consistent early bedtime puts it all in motion.
As a former night owl, I find Ryan Holiday’s description of this in his book Discipline is Destiny so relatable:
“We’re at home, burned out after a long day. We made dinner. We exercised. We put the kids to bed. We caught up on email. We’re so exhausted it feels like all we can do is just veg out on the couch… when in fact, we need one final push of discipline: picking ourselves up and walking to the bedroom and passing out.”
That final push of discipline is an ultimate act of self-care. Morning you will thank yourself.
