8 HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS TO DEVELOP TODAY!

Building healthy sleep habits is absolutely crucial for getting more, better, and more restful sleep.

Remember, your body is designed to adapt to habits. It likes to repeat behaviors and form patterns. The more you repeat an action, the easier it becomes for your body to perform that action over and over. Just like you can ride a bike, snowboard, or type more effectively with practice, so, too, you can sleep better as a result of building healthy sleep habits.

In this post, I want to talk about some of the best sleep habits you can build—habits that will change the way you rest, help you fall asleep faster, and encourage deeper, more restorative sleep every night.

Put in the work to build these habits, and you’ll change your life for the better, guaranteed!

My Top Recommended Healthy Sleep Habits

Habit #1: Go to bed at the same time every night. Yes, even on the weekends, too! Going to sleep at the same time every night will actually train your body to shut down and “switch off” effectively at a certain time. Within just a few weeks, you’ll find that you start to feel tired around the same time, and if you’re in bed and ready to sleep, you’ll drift off with far less effort because your body is now trained to sleep at that time.

Habit #2: Wake up at the same time every morning. This habit goes hand in hand with your sleep time. Just like your body is adapting to a new sleep schedule, it will also adapt to waking up at a certain time every morning. The more you repeat this action of waking up at the exact same time, the more you’ll train your body to shift your sleep cycles to fit within your set “sleep timeframe”. As a result, you’ll find you wake up feeling more refreshed and alert.

Habit #3: Make evenings relaxing. As much fun as it can be to go out partying or enjoy an active game night with friends or family, too much activity at night can interfere with your sleep cycle. For the time being (2-3 months), keep your evenings focused entirely on going to bed—including shutting your mind and body down earlier in the night by spending time doing quiet, relaxing activities. This will help you build the habit of actually getting to sleep at the right time, and put your mind and body in the right state to drift off to sleep.

Habit #4: Follow the exact same pre-bedtime ritual. We all have various “steps” to getting ready for bed: brushing your teeth, showering or taking a bath, washing your face, removing makeup/applying night cream, switching out the bed pillows, putting on your pajamas, locking the front door, taking out the garbage, and the list goes on. Part of training yourself to fall asleep is using these “steps” to slowly shut down your mind and body. Try to follow the exact same process of getting ready for bed every night, repeating them in the same order. You’ll find it’s highly effective to manually shut your body down!

Habit #5: Relax your body. A critical part of the falling asleep process is shutting down your body. Relax your muscles by doing some light stretching or a calming Yoga workout. Let your digestive system shut down by eating a light dinner 2-3 hours before you’re ready for bed, and NOT snacking at night. Keep your evening activities relaxing and slow-paced so your body begins to settle into the calm comfort of your bedtime routine. 

Habit #6: Relax your mind. The majority of people who struggle with sleep problems find there is some mental component: stress, anxiety, worries, etc. Relaxing your mind is crucial for getting ready for sleep. Try meditating, practicing mindfulness techniques, or taking long, deep breaths. Listen to relaxing music or an entertaining audiobook or podcast. Do whatever you can to clear all the worried, stressed, and anxious thoughts from your mind so your brain can “shut down” and drift off to sleep.

Habit #7: Spend more time in the sun. It may sound hard to believe, but the way you spend your days will have a huge effect on your nights! Being in the sun more during the day will help to regulate your body’s production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep. Melatonin levels rise when the sun is high and the day is bright, and drop when the sun sets and night descends. Spending more time in the sun every day will help to regulate your melatonin levels and make it easier to fall asleep after dark,

Habit #8: Exercise daily. You’ll find that you typically sleep better on the days when you exercise, and that’s because exercise both regulates your hormones (including sleep hormones) and helps to tire you out so you feel sleepier and more relaxed at night. Even if you only do a short workout (20-30 minutes), try to get at least some level of exercise every single day. It will make a huge difference in your sleep quality!

Build Better Healthy Sleep Habits with PureSleep

If you’re trying to build better sleep habits, good for you! You’re doing what’s best for your body and taking action to improve your health.

PureSleep can give you the helping hand you need. Our all-natural sleep supplement will help to increase melatonin levels at night, make you feel drowsier, and encourage deeper, more restful sleep. It’s the perfect “booster” for those first 30-60 days when you’re struggling to build those healthy sleep habits that will guarantee you sleep better for the rest of your life.