According to the CDC, 14.5% of adults have trouble falling and staying asleep. Teenagers, however, experience this even more with 39% of teens having insomnia and 70% of teens not getting the recommended 9 hours of sleep. There are many reasons why you may not be able to fall asleep including stress, restlessness, comfort, etc. BUT I’m here to tell you the best tips to sleep better! These tips are related to sleep hygiene, which refers to healthy habits that can help you sleep better.
1. Don’t eat before bed
As tempting as late night snacks are, they definitely won’t help you sleep. Eating makes you energized, which is not something you want right before you go to bed. It also awakens your digestion system, so while you’re trying to rest, your body is trying to work to break down the food that you have eaten, making it hard to fall asleep. However, certain foods are better than others. Bananas, toast, tea, and milk are all good things to have before bed. They are milder and won’t cause a big need for digestion.
2. Don’t look at your screens
This is one of the hardest things to do. Whether you are up late doing homework, watching a movie, or scrolling Instagram, screens before bed are bad. Screens emit blue light which tricks your brain into thinking it’s daytime and prevents your brain from releasing melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that the body releases to help you relax and become sleepy. It’s recommended to stop looking at screens an hour before bed; however, that may not doable for everyone. Blue light glasses are a great investment because they protect your eyes from blue light, so you can look at screens as long as you want without suffering the consequences.
3. A clean bed
It might sounds silly but a clean bed makes everything better. You want your bed to be a comfortable and stress-free zone. In order for this to be accomplished, your bed needs to only be for sleeping. That means don’t eat in your bed, and definitely don’t do homework in your bed. When you start doing things that your brain thinks are stressful, it will associate them with your bed. And you want your bed to be as stress-free as possible. This is another reason that a clean bed is important, so try not to have trash and other stuff in it.
4. Wind Down
Schedule 30 minutes before you go to sleep to do something you find relaxing. This could be coloring, meditating, journaling, or reading. Try to stay away from energizing activities as you want this to make you sleepy.
