Are you someone who can easily sleep through the night? If so, lucky you! If not, don’t worry - here are a couple of things you can do to ensure you’re also getting the important benefits of a full-night’s sleep.
Jason Wachob, the Founder and Co-CEO of mindbodygreen.com, recently wrote an article discussing Functional Medicine Doctor Frank Lipman’s 4 nonnegotiables. Here’s the quick summary…
1. The bedtime transition
Unless you are “that person” who can instantly fall asleep when it’s time to go to bed, you need to make sure you are allowing time for your body to understand that it’s time to sleep.
Anything from meditative yoga, reading a good book, taking a relaxing bath or listening to relaxing music will signal to your body that it’s time to wind down.
Lipman also suggests strengthening your stress management routine: “Try out a practice like journaling or just writing down your to-do list on a piece of paper to get stressful thoughts out of your head before you transition into bedtime.”\
2. Step away from the screens!
This piece of advice might be the hardest to follow, but actually is the most important — if you follow any of these, this should be the one.
A big reason why it is difficult to sleep through the night for many is due to the exposure of artificial light, according to Lipman.
Try to turn off your devices or at least step away from them an hour or two before you plan to go to sleep — that way melatonin can be secreted, which will not happen if there is any light.
3. Keep your room dark.
This may be the time to invest in a great eye mask or blackout curtains if you’re in a bustling city with many lights!
Having a totally dark room is essential, and Lipman says, “any peek of light can mess with your ability to get to bed on time.”
4. Keep it cool.
Since our body temperatures decrease during the night, keeping a cool room can help trick us into falling asleep sooner.
Though it’s up for debate, Lipman says keeping your room no hotter than 67 degrees is ideal for sleeping.
Bonus tip: have the right pillow
Here at Lagoon, we value your sleep, and we all know it is difficult to get comfortable and stay asleep with the wrong pillow. Don’t let your pillow ruin your full night’s sleep, and make sure you’re sleeping on the right one for how you sleep.
Not sure what pillow is right for you? We took the guesswork out of the equation. Just take our simple sleep quiz, and we will match you with your perfect pillow!
With these new tips, do you feel ready to get a good night’s sleep and stay asleep? We hope so!
Read the full article by Jason Wachob here.