Five simple ways to help you sleep better

‘Sigh! It’s going to be a struggle getting sleep tonight.’

If that’s the line you’re going to bed with and failing miserably at a good night’s sleep, it’s no surprise.

The truth is, the more you think compulsively about it, the worse it is going to get.

Even if you’ve acknowledged it as a problem, don’t make it feel like a nightly battle.

The idea is not to have to force yourself to sleep because then it becomes a dreaded task, and sleeping is supposed to be anything

but that. Here are five tips for all those who have trouble sleeping (and it does not involve an overhaul of the bedroom).



1. Unwind time

If you need to wake up at 7am and are targeting seven hours of sleep, then don’t go to bed five minutes before midnight. Your body needs time to unwind.

It’s like the engine of a car – you need to shift to a lower gear before you shift to neutral, and finally turn off the engine.

Give yourself at least 20-30 minutes of quiet time in bed before you turn in. Meditate, read a book, or reflect on all that you achieved through the day.

2. Don’t obsess

Checking the clock every few minutes, fretting over precious lost sleep time, or relentlessly counting sheep (it’s never worked for anyone I know), will not aid in the sleeping process.

Remember days when you’ve woken up feeling fresh even though you didn’t clock eight hours?

And then there are days when you’ve felt groggy despite sleeping long enough.

The truth is, it’s the quality of sleep that matters.

So put your clock away, stop counting down and just focus on relaxing.

3. Create the ambiance

Light some aroma candles, squirt your pillow with some sweet-smelling pillow mist, and make sure the temperature of the room feels right.

Keep your AC remote close to your bed, so you can easily increase and decrease the temperature at any point.

If you like some peace and quiet, make sure your doors and windows are tightly shut.

For those who can’t sleep to silence, tune into some soothing instrumental music.

And well, if nothing else, the effort to create the right ambiance should tire you out a little and make you want to get to bed.

4. Reduce clutter around the bed

We can’t stress on the importance of de-cluttering.

Though most of us don’t sleep with clothes, laptops or other household items on the bed next to us (please stop if you do), keeping the area around the bed messy can also negatively affect your state of mind.

5. Keep the bed stress-free

Don’t do your office work or other stressful activities sitting on your bed.

If possible, keep your work outside the bedroom or have a study corner in your room and limit your activities to that space.

The bedroom is meant to be a place where you go to unwind and should not be associated with anything that causes you any unpleasantness.