FIVE tips for getting better sleep

May or may not be asleep on stage

Recently I’ve had a bit of difficulty switching off before going to sleep.

With lots going on in work and my personal life, it’s not been easy to stop my brain from going 100mph.

I’ve also been waking up in the middle of the night pretty consistently for the last four months – something which I never used to do. The quality off my sleep deteriorated towards the end of my prep last year, when calories were lower and my body was just going through the motions. It’s never really recovered since (luckily, I’m still really fucking good at napping).

One of my main, daily focuses for this year is to make sure I am getting between seven and eight hours of sleep a night.  Especially with the increased load of my training (I’m now weight training six days a week, with two strength-focused days), it’s super important that I’m getting enough sleep to help my body repair, recover and perform at its best.

As such, I have started implementing a few things to help me not only drift off a bit easier, but sleep deeper and longer.  It’s still a work in progress, but I’m getting there. It’s been difficult, but like any new ‘habit’ you’re trying to form, it just takes time and you have to work at it consistently to notice any improvement.

Just as you would practice meditation or work on your mobility, improving the quality and quantity of your sleep requires conscious effort.  

Now, I’m no doctor, fitness professional or even sleep expert (is that a thing?), so I can not provide guidance on things like supplements that will help or tell you that something below is absolutely going to fix your sleep. However, I can tell you what has worked for me and hopefully you can take something away from it, try it out, and start sleeping better too! Or maybe, simply reading this blog will be boring enough to help you nod off.  Either way, if you give them a crack, let me know how you go in the comments section below!

1. Track it!

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Gathering data about your sleep is essential to improving it. It enables you to assess the effectiveness of different ‘methods’ you’re trying as well as become more aware of what external factors (i.e. diet, stress etc.) are having a negative effect on your sleep.

If you’re just getting started and don’t want to fork out on an expensive fitness tracker, like FitBit, Garmin or Apple Watch, the sleep app Sleep Cycle is pretty good at analysing your sleep. As long as you sleep with your phone near you.  It uses ‘sound analysis’ and tracks how much you’re moving around, to monitor what part of your sleep cycle you’re in and how long you’re in it. Also, a handy feature is that you can set the rough time you want to wake up in the morning, and it will wake you up at the most optimum point in your sleep cycle when you’re in your lightest sleep. However, as I run my morning routine like a drill sergeant (my alarm is set for 5:22am, like a weirdo, and every minute is pretty much accounted for before I leave the house), this level of ambiguity around my wake-up time does not do it for me. I use my FitBit instead.

I wear my FitBit religiously every day. Because it is attached to me and therefore can monitor my heart rate, I find it a much more accurate indication of the length of my sleep as well as stages and quality of my sleep cycle. I can check it every morning and compare against previous days and weeks to see what improves have been made after implementing different things.

2. Download your thoughts

This is a BIG one for me.  With so much racing around my brain, I find it difficult to switch off.

It happens too often that just as I’m nodding off I remember something I need to do at work the next day, start going over it in my head and before I know it I’m staring at the ceiling making a mental list of which journalists I need to tell what the next day (I work in PR for those who don’t know).

Not only that but, especially on a weekend, for some reason I get stressed that I’m going to forget to do something important. What I do to mitigate the stress levels is write down a detailed list of what I have to do the next day. Whether it’s on a notepad or simply in the notes on my phone, I feel more at ease knowing that I don’t need to ‘hold on’ to any particular thought for fear of forgetting. I and can just concentrate on clearing my mind and drifting off.

3. Zero screen time at least 30 minutes before bed

Sounds like an obvious one. And something people say a lot. But it really is important. Whether it’s your emails or Instagram feed you’re checking, being connected to the outside world is a sure fire way to keep your brain whizzing around. The bright light not only stimulates your brain making it harder to fall asleep, but also has negative effects on the quality of your sleep too.

I recognise in my own actions that aimlessly scrolling through social media is a (bad) habit that I have developed.  I’ve had to make a conscious effort to put my phone down on an evening and stop the scrolling. It did give me a bit of anxiety to begin with (what if someone messages me? Or I miss an urgent email). But, like anything you do enough, it’s slowly become more of a habit to put it down and leave it alone.  If someone needs you urgently, they will call. No Instagram notification needs your attention that urgently.

Not being glued to my phone also helps me be more present – especially when I’m eating my dinner which enables me to enjoy it a lot more.

Do whatever you need to do with your phone at least 30 minutes before getting into bed.  Set your alarm, clear your inbox, reply to any messages, put your phone on sleep mode, put it down and don’t pick it up until the alarm goes off in the morning.

4. Clear your mind

I’ve purposefully left this final tip pretty vague, because everyone has different ways to clear their minds. You have to play around to find the way that works for you.

Whether that’s meditating, reading, listening to something or another way. There’s plenty of ways to try and turn the dial down on an active mind. I don’t have specific way that works for me 100% of the time but at the moment I dance between reading and ‘meditating.’

By meditating, I mean: Playing a five-minute guided meditation on Headspace to send me off to sleep.

I find reading to be the most helpful. Another one of my New Year goals is to ‘get educated!’ Not just on fitness, although that’s mostly what I’m learning about at the moment, but I always make sure I’m learning something everyday.  To do this, I’m listening to a lot of podcasts during the day and trying to read more at night time. I find that I barely get through five pages before I’m drifting off.

Some people I’ve spoken to like to listen to calm music, or even a podcast, but that one hasn’t worked for me so far. Each to their own for this one!

5. Establish a pre-sleep routine

This is especially important for shift workers, who’s sleep times are ever changing an unpredictable, but beneficial for anyone. Having a good pre-sleep routine helps signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.

Everyone’s pre-sleep routine is going to be different, but whatever activities you choose, make sure they are relaxing. Whether that’s journalling and planning for the day ahead and reading a book, or, if lucky enough to have a bath (curse you small city apartment!), having a nice long soak and meditating. By establishing a routine after a while your body will start to recognise the signs and realise it’s time to wind down.

Once you find a routine that works for you, stick to it for a few weeks, and take note of how effective it is, so you can tweak as needed.