We all have trouble sleeping sometimes, but after you get rid of these 5 bad habits, your sleep schedule will improve by 200%. A good sleep rhythm is essential for having a productive day. Personally, I was always struggling when I had to wake up early and I just couldn’t sleep. I was never able to figure out what actually prevented me from having a peaceful night and put me in insomnia for years.
5 Steps That Will Improve Your Sleep Schedule
The most difficult thing to realize is, that mostly there’s not just one big reason you can’t sleep. What’s preventing you from sleep is made up of 5 habits everyone of us has, which are killing your sleep schedule.
So let’s jump right into improving your sleep schedule!
1. You are going to bed too late
Surprise! Now don’t think “oh I already know this”. I know, you know this, but do you really try to go to bed on time or are you just lying in your bed promising to yourself you are going to watch “just one more YouTube video”?
Imagine the human body is like the most complex factory in the universe with lots of processes going on inside.
Now:
Can a factory work effectively without getting its pipes and machines cleaned regularly? No!
Your body needs at least 8 hours of sleep each night to detox and clean itself. You better don’t disrupt that process with your alarm clock going off too early because you went to bed too late. If you have to wake up at 6 am, plan to close your eyes at least 8 hours before at 10 pm.
2. You have things on mind
When we go to bed we often think about what we have to remember to do the next day. There are deadlines, appointments or assignments floating around in our head.
The easiest fix for that is to write everything down in a notebook, a calendar or even just a piece of paper so your brain doesn’t have to bother about forgetting something anymore.
Doing so frees your mind. You basically outsourced your memory to a sheet of paper. Whenever you write down what to do the next day, I can finally relax. You don’t have to spend any more effort to remember something.
3. You don’t exercise
Your body still has energy. Even if you are not going to a gym and even if you are not a born athlete, you somehow need to get rid of all the excess energy that prevents you from having a calm night.
Quick fix:
There are intense 5 Minute At Home Workouts on YouTube which will get you exhausted quickly. You always have 5 minutes left to blast a quick workout, so no excuses!
Here’s one of them:
Do one of these during the day (not right before going to bed!) and you will have a much better night.
4. You are using your smartphone right before bedtime
To improve your sleep schedule, stop using light-emitting devices before going to bed. Smartphones, tablets, tv or your computer all emit blue light, which prevents the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. It makes your body think it’s still daytime and shifts your natural sleep schedule which actually should make you tired when the sun sets and wakes you up when it rises.
In the evening, you should dim all the lights. You can even get an app called f.lux to filter all the blue light from your computer screen.
It is recommended to turn off ALL electronic devices one hour before going to bed.
5. It’s too hot
This is a simple one most of us don’t notice at all. Sleeping in a rather cool environment improves the quality of our sleep massively. In warm nights, you sweat, turn around and try to find a more comfortable position disrupting your sleep.
Personally, whenever I can’t fall asleep, I turn down the heating. Magically, I suddenly fall asleep. Airing your room helps as well.
5 Things to do for a Healthy Sleep Schedule – Conclusion
To keep a healthy sleep schedule, you should plan your bedtime, workout during the day, write down everything you have in mind, not use your smartphone one hour before bed, air your room right before going to bed to cool it down.
Then your sleep quality will skyrocket! Surely following this guide you will be able to improve your sleep schedule massively.
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