10 Tips for More Efficient and Better Sleep in 2020

Vivek George
Mind Home — Mindful, Holistic Living

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As the New Year approaches, we often set resolutions in areas we’d like to improve or focus on. Considering the fact that sleep takes up a third of our day (and life), making sure to get good quality sleep is essential to achieving these resolutions and generally living a healthy and happy life.

Below is a list of recommendations accumulated from various sleep experts. We’re all designed differently so I find experimenting on myself is the best way to determine what works best for me. That said, it is important to give each experiment a couple days. You never know, sometimes during the course of the day we do something that negatively or positively impacts what we are trying.

Sleep tips are split between either setting or practices. It is good to try a bit of both. Let’s go!

Setting

  1. Bedroom temperature. While most sleep experts recommend your bedroom being on the cooler side, if you’re shivering it will be impossible to sleep. Trying to set your bedroom to a comfortable temperature where you’re not too cold or hot will make it easier to sleep.
  2. Keep your bedroom primarily for sleep. Have you ever noticed that when you walk into your bedroom you feel drowsy? It is because your brain associates your bed with sleep. Try to limit the activities you do in your bedroom to mainly sleep. Keeping that association tight will make it easier to fall asleep once you enter your bed.
  3. Good bed. While this may seem obvious, investing in a good bed makes a huge difference on your sleep quality and how you feel physically when you wake up. Bestreviews.com, Sleepjunkie, Wirecutter, or asking friends on Facebook are helpful ways to figure out what bed to get.
  4. Dark room. Darkness is an important signal to your brain that it is time to sleep. If there is light in your bedroom (maybe outside through a window even) it can make it harder for you to get truly restful sleep. Try blackout blinds or curtains.

Practices

  1. Stop drinking caffeine too late. Based on research it seems to take between 7–12 hours for caffeine to be completely processed by your body. Most experts seem to recommend not drinking coffee after 2pm, depending on the time you sleep.

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Vivek George
Mind Home — Mindful, Holistic Living

Founding member and chief catalyst @yuticoop. Consultant @shantibhavan. Know thyself.