When you are stressed you especially need good sleep, but sometimes sleeping is exactly what is hard. What can you do?
Do you want to get the most out of your sleep? Then follow my sleep course.
Falling asleep better when stressed, 10 tips
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1. Switch down consciously
After a busy day it is hard for your brain to suddenly switch over to sleep. Take the time to wind down in the evening. Choose, for example, a bath or a shower, a quiet walk, or read a book or magazine, or listen to a podcast.
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2. Evaluate your day
Tame your “monkey mind”: your thoughts affect your sleep and vice versa. Evaluate your day before going to bed and focus on what you are grateful for. This helps you to relax. Critical and worrying thoughts disturb your sleep, so rather schedule them during the day in your diary and avoid them just before bedtime 😉
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3. Trust that your problem will be solved
Are you lying awake worrying about a problem? Tell yourself about the problem, and trust that it will be solved when you sleep well.
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4. Meditate
Meditate to order and time your thoughts by keep returning to the sensation of your breath through your nose. This way you keep practising letting go of your (worrying) thoughts. Back to the breath. Back to the now.
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5. Create an optimal sleep haven
Ensure silence and a dark or dim bedroom. Use earplugs or soothing background sounds. A temperature of 18°C is ideal for letting your body cool down.
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6. Embrace sleep
It is fun. You go on a pleasant journey; see it as a well-earned moment of rest.
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7. Solve your problems in the morning
Use the morning when you wake up to come up with solutions to your problems. Ideally you try to stay between the dreaming and waking state.
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8. Breathe consciously
Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, ideally 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out. Combine this with constant, peaceful and grateful thoughts. Do it for 10 minutes or until you fall asleep.
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9. Relax with the military exercise
Tense your whole body, muscle by muscle, while breathing deeply and slowly in and out. Start with the facial muscles and work through your whole body down to your toes.
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10. Keep a diary
Keep a diary of your daily activities, so you can see where things might go wrong and where you can improve.
Read also the 10 tips to improve your REM sleep or How much deep sleep do I need per night?