Four Steps to Better Sleep

You dream about your wedding day, the day you meet your unborn baby for the first time, the day you win the lottery and become a billionaire, a fabulous vacation, the clock striking five so you can go home; so many things! With all that dreaming you’re doing you must get plenty of sleep, except that you don’t. Sleep eludes so many, what with life and all its little requirements getting in the way. When everything is done – or ignored until further notice – and your head hits the pillow, you should fall to sleep in an instant, right? Wrong, again. Many people cannot get to sleep, no matter how tired they are. If you find that you spend more time staring at your ceiling than sleeping, try one of these four simple steps to help you sleep better.

Empty Your Mind

Instead of lying in bed reminding yourself not to forget to call the florist, arrange for your next hair appointment or take your car in for scheduled maintenance, write it down. Spend a few minutes before bed writing down the thoughts you have floating around in your head, whether they consist of to-do list type thoughts or just the things that have spent the day bugging you. Your husband left his dirty underpants on the floor again? Instead of stewing about it in bed while he sleeps peacefully, write him a note and stick it on the bathroom mirror so he wakes up to it in the morning.

Make it Dark

Put a blanket over the window, invest in blackout curtains or just nail a couple of boards across your windows. Whatever you do, make your bedroom as dark as possible. Unplug night lights and cover any flashing phone chargers or other electronics. The darker the room, the less distractions you will face when falling asleep.

Use a Relaxing Scent

The smell of lavender releases tension and creates a calming atmosphere. By having a lavender-scented bedroom you are enabling yourself to relax and fall asleep faster. You can even try a lavender-scented eye mask; warm it in the microwave for a few seconds before going to bed and get ready for the most relaxing sleep of your life.

Use the Bedroom Only for Sleep

Reading in bed, working in bed, folding laundry on the bed and doing anything that is not sleep on the bed – excluding a little romance – makes the bed remind you of everything but sleep. From now on only use the bed for things that require sleeping or romance. Go find another comfortable place to read so your mind will associate lying in bed with going to sleep.