A few weeks ago, I woke up at threeish in the morning tangled in blankets and screamed, “ENOUGH.”
(It was more of a mental scream. After all, my dog was still enjoying a great night of sleep.)
Maybe you’ve gone through a season like I have where your sleep is NOT good. Maybe you’re having a hard time falling asleep. Maybe you’re having a hard time staying asleep. Maybe you’re waking up after a full night’s sleep still exhausted.
Maybe you’re like I was and have a combination of all three.
My exhausted self finally decided that enough was enough – it was time for a total reset. Here’s what I did that might help you:
REPLACE EVERYTHING
Maybe a little drastic, but it certainly helped me. I kept waking up tangled in blankets and having to adjust everything on my bed because it wasn’t comfortable. When I decided I needed to do something about my sleep situation, the first thing I did was replace everything on my bed. Pillowcases, sheets, duvet, duvet cover – the whole nine yards. Out of all the things I did to help the situation, this has been one of the most impactful things.
MONITOR YOUR SLEEP QUALITY
I started wearing my smartwatch to bed and actually looking at the sleep analysis it gave me. I was a little horrified. Not only was I waking up a lot more often during the night than I thought I was, but I was falling asleep later than I thought and getting less sleep than I calculated. Knowing the situation helped me to set up a plan and to check-in for improvements.
SET A SLEEP GOAL AND MEET IT
This is where sleep monitoring is really useful. It’s one thing to set a goal of X hours of sleep a night and then to try and get to bed and wake up on time. It’s another thing to have some sort of sleep monitor that’s telling you exactly how many hours you slept. Set a goal, assess how much you’re actually sleeping, then make needed modifications to hit your goal. And, maybe take a nap while you’re at it?
TRY AN EYE MASK
I never thought I was a person who was bothered by light while I was sleeping. While I can still fall asleep with light, sleeping with an eye mask is so much better. Not only does it block the streetlight trickling in through my window at night, but it allows me to stay asleep for longer when sunlight starts to filter in. I have especially been loving this weighted mask – who knew the weighted blanket concept would be effective in eye masks too?
DETERMINE IDEAL SLEEP SETTING
Finally and obviously, figure out what helps you best go to sleep at night. I like a little bit of noise as I’m falling asleep and something to focus my mind on, so falling asleep to an audiobook set on a timer has been great. Whatever works for you, do that thing.
Here’s hoping you sleep well tonight.
KELVEY OLIVIA VANDER HART 