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Sleep is the most powerful tool we have for recovery. It is when we are sleeping that our body is repairing itself from the days activities and making itself stronger so that it can perform better the following day. It is when our memories are made lasting, when what we have learned is stored, and when our muscles are repaired and made stronger. Sleep, therefore, is THE most important thing we can improve if we are trying to make progress. If we are not getting enough quality sleep (8 hours plus for most) then our results can suffer drastically.
For many people, falling asleep can be a very difficult and frustrating process. This is something that I struggled with for years. I can remember laying in bed for hours the night before the first day of school, or before a big game, or just on a random day, getting incredibly frustrated. I knew that I needed a good night sleep but could not make myself fall asleep. Or other times I would fall asleep quickly, only to wake up an hour later and lie awake for hours. After many years of struggles I began to research how to fall asleep and stay asleep. It took some time, but now I rarely have trouble falling asleep and typically sleep through the night. I cannot tell you how much of a mental relief it is to not have to worry about being able to sleep. In this article I want to share the things I did that helped me start to sleep better so hopefully they might help you if you struggle with the same issues.
The biggest thing that I learned was that in order for you to be able to fall asleep, your body needs to know that your bed is where you sleep. This was a big mistake I made when I was younger. I had a TV in my room and I would lay in bed watching TV for hours before going to bed, or I would do my homework in bed, or I would play video games in bed. I was spending a lot of time in and on my bed. Therefore, my body was not able to tell the difference of when it was time to fall asleep. When I moved into a new house and wanted to get control of my sleep, I did not put a TV in my room. I spent all of my time in the living room area when I was at home and only got into bed when it was time to go to sleep. By doing this I immediately began to get tired once I got in bed. One caveat to this is that, now that I am married, my wife and I watch TV at night in bed before going to sleep. This doesn’t affect my sleep, however, and I think it’s because I have trained myself over the years that bed is where you sleep. I also do not spend any time during the day in bed, and only get in when it is about to be time to go to sleep.
The next thing I changed was trying to go to the bed around the same time every night. When I was younger I would go to bed around the same time during the weekdays, but on the weekend I would stay up much later. Then, when it was time to go to bed early again I would have trouble falling asleep. Now, I typically go to bed at the most an hour later than normal on the weekends (and typically it is around the same time because I get tired). Now my body knows when it is getting close to bed time, no matter what day of the week it is, and I start to wind down and get tired. If there is a rare occasion where I stay up much later than normal I do notice that the next night I sometimes have a little trouble falling sleep. It’s not major but it can take me a little longer to fall asleep. It is always a good reminder that even one day off of the routine can affect my sleep patterns.
The third major change for me with regards to sleep was starting to pay attention to how I was reacting to different foods. After taking a food sensitivity test I realized that I was not digesting a lot of the foods I was eating very well, causing inflammation. Once I cut these foods out I immediately started to sleep better. I have the awareness now to notice if I do eat something that I don’t digest well (specifically beef), I will have a harder time sleeping. Alcohol also has a big impact on my sleep quality. In both of these instances I will typically fall right asleep but will wake up in the night and have trouble falling back asleep. It has happened to me enough times that I can definitely point to them as the culprit and really makes me think twice about if the poorer sleep quality is worth it before consuming.
Some other things that are really important for me to get good sleep are to have the room very dark (I have blackout curtains), keep the room very cold (I recently got a chili pad but before that we kept the house at 65 degrees), and invest in a very comfortable bed (we have a sleep number). We have a fan for constant noise running and also have recently started to play a white noise podcast. I take liquid CBD before bed and notice a big difference in sleep quality if I run out or forget to take it. I spend 20 minutes in the sauna post workout many days and on the days that I don’t I try to take a hot Epsom salt bath at night. Finally, I try not to drink liquids close to bed so that I won’t have to wake up too often to use the restroom. All of these added together make a difference, and adjusting just one of them can have a negative impact on my sleep quality.
I hope that these tips will help clarify the steps I have taken to improve my sleep quality. Ultimately, the goal is to teach your body that when you get in bed that it is time to go to sleep. If you can do it enough times then your body will learn and hopefully you will start to fall asleep faster and stay asleep better.
