Five Ways to Chill Out Before Bed

“Sleeping is a basic human need, like eating, drinking, and breathing. Like these other needs, sleeping is a vital part of the foundation for good health and well-being throughout your lifetime.” — National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Getting 7–8 hours of sleep each night is elusive and often considered mythical, like a unicorn or the Browns winning the Superbowl. And it’s supposed to immediately solve all your problems, right?

While we can’t guarantee that maintaining healthy sleep habits will transform every aspect of your life, we can guarantee that it’ll improve your well-being. We typically need about seven hours of sleep each night. Even though not getting enough sleep can be the norm, there are several practices out there for you to try the next time you’re staring at your ceiling thinking of that awkward thing that happened five years ago. (Or is that just us?)

Breathe in and then breathe out. Sure, we breathe over 14,000 times a day… what good is it to do before bed? Here’s a tip: Slow. It. Down. Doing a deep breathing exercise before bed is an efficient way to slow down your body and your mind. Even if you just try one of these exercises for five minutes, you may feel more empowered to head into dreamland.

Read a book. Those pesky screens seem to follow us everywhere — from our work life to our personal life, it may feel like our phones get more love than our pillows. Slowly start to separate screens from your sleep zone and pick up an “old-fashioned” book, magazine or newspaper, you know… that’s made out of paper. Even reading just a few pages helps your mind relax.

Meditate. Information and experience overload impacts the best of us, and it’s easy to prioritize feeling productive over feeling recharged. On days where it feels hard to know up from down, tune in to the present with this guided meditation.

Set the mood. Make sure your sleep space is as comfortable as you can make it to help you both fall asleep and stay asleep. Channel your inner bear trying to hibernate in the winter: remove as much light and noise as possible and find a temperature you feel comfortable in. If you need an extra fan, ear plugs or maybe a giant blanket to wrap around you like a burrito, do what you need to do to feel extra snug.

Channel your inner Shakespeare. When in doubt, write it out. Journaling your inner thoughts at the end of day may help you process experiences and feel more prepared for what’s next. Thoughts on paper are more tangible to review and contextualize than thoughts in your head.

Like we said, better sleep can’t solve everything, but it can improve a lot of things. Sleep helps keep us safe, young and focused. Happy snoozing!