5 Simple Ideas to Make Sleep a Priority

Make Sleep A Priority

Sleeping well is the conversation this month and today we will share 5 Simple Ideas to Make Sleep a Priority. These are ideas we have been practicing for quite a while and in our experience have helped with a better night’s sleep. 

To be clear sleep has become a health issue for many people in today's modern world. Below we share some of those stats with you. Now might be a good time to make sleep a priorirty. 

Consider these Sleep stats: 

According to the CDC website - "1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep - A good night’s sleep is critical for good health" - https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html 

"We all know that sleep is necessary for our physical and mental health, but very few know how important it really is." - SleepAdvisor.org https://www.sleepadvisor.org/sleep-statistics/​

“Tired minds don’t plan well. Sleep first, plan later.” Walter Reisch

Hopefully, the importance of sleep and how it impacts your physical and mental well-being is becoming clear.  With that being said, you must begin to make sleep a priority.  Think about how much better you will feel, and what you can accomplish if you work on improving your sleep.  

If your sleep does not improve, no matter what you try, you should speak to your doctor as there could be underlying medical or psychological problems.

Here are some tips on how to learn to prioritize your sleep, and how to get to bed at a reasonable hour:

1. Establish a bedtime routine – Just as children benefit from routines, so do adults.  It is beneficial to create a routine where you start getting ready at least an hour before lights out.  This may include turning off electronics and getting off your screens, having a bath (not too hot though as this will impede falling asleep), getting into your pyjamas, writing in a gratitude journal and reading a book. It is also important to understand that the time you go to bed is important for your well-being. That time is to be in bed, lights out and ready for sleep by 10:30 pm. 

2. Set up a pleasant atmosphere – You want to set up your bedroom so that it is cozy, and so that you enjoy retreating to it at the end of a busy day.  Pay attention to the colours of your walls.  Choose calming, soothing paint colours such as soft grays, lavender, or sage.  Set up a lamp with a soft yellow or red light.  Avoid lights that emit blue wavelengths.  Decorate your walls in such a way that it adds to the beauty of the room.  

3. Recognize the difference between being busy and being productive – Have you ever found yourself wasting time at the end of the day, because you are tired, but it feels like it is too early to go to bed?  For example, you might be surfing the internet or checking your emails for the 15th time that day, but you aren’t doing anything productive.  Instead, you are just keeping yourself busy.  Learn to recognize when you are doing this, so that you can spend your time more wisely, and you don’t steal time from your bedtime routine.  

4. Remind yourself of this saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” - When you look around your house at the end of the day, you can always find something else to do before you head off to bed – tidying, organizing another pile of something or another email waiting to be answered.  This is never going to change.  Realize that there will always be things that don’t get done in a day and that you can start fresh the next day after a good night of sleep.

5. Avoid emotional and financial conversations before bedtime – Evenings are not a good time to be having difficult conversations with friends or family.  Talking about your financial situation, such as your outstanding credit card balance, should also not be done before bedtime.  Instead, these conversations, including texts and emails, should be reserved for daytime when you have the energy, and when they are not going to cause you extra stress right before it is time to fall asleep.  

What did we miss? Share your thoughts and ideas on how you Make Sleep a Priority in the comments below.

Get in touch with us and let us know how we can help you. 

Subscribe to our newsletter here 
https://mailchi.mp/d44da570a49b/newslettercontent 

---