Getting a good night’s rest is not always as easy as it should be. You would like to drift peacefully off to sleep once your head hits the pillow, but we’ve all had nights where that just seems impossible. Maybe you can’t settle down or find comfort. Perhaps you wake up and can’t get back to sleep or frequently wake without rest. There are many causes of poor sleep, but good “sleep hygiene” and a few clever tricks can help you achieve better, deeper, and longer sleep on nights when sleep seems most elusive.     

Why Can’t You Get to Sleep?

  • Racing Thoughts
  • Nearby Disruptions
  • Poor Diet
  • Physical Discomfort
  • Anxiety

When you can’t sleep, often there are underlying causes beyond simply not keeping your eyes closed. Anxiety or just a busy mind might keep you up. Physical discomfort often stops you from settling into sleep – or staying asleep for very long. Distractions around your bedroom or even non-ideal management of your energy during the day can keep you awake. Let’s look at ways to address these underlying problems. 

Make Your Bedroom an Oasis

Cover Windows and LED Lights

Get rid of distracting lights. Hang heavier curtains that cover the entire window so that moving headlights outside don’t wake you up. Throw a t-shirt over LED lights from devices in your room and snuff out night lights for a deep dark sleep.

White Noise Machine and a Fan

Use a fan to blow cool air around the room and create white noise which softens distracting sounds outside. You can also use a white noise machine that includes sound variances to further muffle audio distractions.

Soundproofing and Earplugs

You can make your room more sound-resistant with soundproofing. Just a padded strip around the door frame can make a difference. Wear earplugs to take sounds further away from your eardrums for a more peaceful sleep. Be sure to keep up with earplug cleanliness and care.

Door Locks and Privacy

Keep family from walking through your bedroom with a door lock and privacy policies. Your sleep is important to family harmony and personal sanity.

 Ease Discomfort and Anxiety Before Bed

Take the time to remove the tension in your body and in your mind that might be keeping you awake. These methods make up good sleep hygiene by helping you prepare your body and mind for peaceful sleep.

Take a Hot Bath in a Cold House

Your body takes wakefulness cues through temperature. It associates heat with waking and cold with sleeping, and you can trick your body into getting sleepy with a relaxingly hot bath. Turn the AC down for the night and slip into a steamy bath. Let the hot water relax your muscles and let yourself start to drift off in the warm water. When you rise from your bath, dry off in the cold air and then slip under the covers. The physical relaxation combined with the cold will help you relax into sleep.

CBD for Muscle Pain and Anxiety

CBD and other cannabis varieties could possibly aid with sleep through several of the plant’s native benefits. CBD could potentially ease anxiety and quiet racing thoughts. It may help ease muscle soreness and even increase muscle recovery time by reducing cortisol production. CBD may act as a mild mood lifter, which may help you feel peaceful and relaxed before bed. THC in cannabis products could potentially support the suppressing of dreams.

Build a Long Bedtime Routine

Finally, take the time to build a long and relaxing bedtime routine that you repeat every night. In fact, it’s a good idea to consider sleep hygiene throughout the day. Try to avoid a nap longer than 1 hour in the early afternoon. Consider exercising to the point of cardio 3-5 hours before your bedtime to spend excess physical energy and make your body crave sleep.

Then start relaxing 1 hour before bed. Close your email and make a cup of tea. Consider meditation before bed or just a quiet few minutes on your back porch listening to the crickets. Take a hot shower or a long bath and let your body relax in the luxury of hot water. Then slip into soft sheets in a cool bedroom with lights covered and a soft white noise to muffle outside distractions.

Good sleep hygiene and a few clever tricks can help you get a good nights’ rest. Discover your body’s response to CBD in building a healthy sleep cycle.