Here are five tips to follow before bed that will help you fall asleep faster, according to a sleep expert – and it’s similar to the routine of a child
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There’s a reason why the phrase ‘sleep like a baby’ is used if you’ve had a deep and restful sleep.
Parents tend to work hard on ensuring little ones have a good bedtime routine so that they settle to a sleep, calm, comfortable and safe environment.
According to sleep expert Andrea Grace, adults can sometimes neglect their own sleep needs, particularly leading up to bedtime.
For World Sleep Day, which fell on March 18, and National Sleep Awareness Month, nursery brand ClevaMama has teamed up with the sleep expert to share some tips on how adults can fall asleep faster.
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Speaking to The Mirror, Andrea explained that parents and adults in general “need cherishing, just as much as children do, and one way that you can do this is to care for your sleep and give yourself a similar bedtime routine to that of your child”.
Here Andrea’s five sleep tips which should help you prepare for bed.
1. Turn screens off half an hour before bedtime
This will give your body time to wind down before bed. This rule goes for children and is also a good place to start for adults as well.
For some, removing screens from the bedroom might be the way to go.
2. Have a warm bath or shower directly before getting into bed.
According to Sleep Foundation, having a bath before bedtime will stimulate blood flow to the hands and feet.
If you come back into the living room and start tidying up or watching something on TV, you will re-energise yourself.
3. Try and have your bedroom as calm, quiet and dark as possible.
Excess light will interfere with your body’s production of melatonin production (the sleep hormone).
Make sure your windows are covered. If light still comes into your room, try wearing an eye mask.
4. It’s fine to read in bed but try to avoid looking at your phone, computer or TV.
For many people, their phones are the last thing they see before bed, and the first thing they look at in the morning.
Studies have shown that screen time before bed can increase the amount of time it takes to fall asleep, reduce sleep quality, and affect attentiveness the following day.
This can happen on many levels, for example due to exposure to blue light, which suppresses the production of melatonin, the hormone that induces sleepiness.
5. Keep an eye on your caffeine intake.
Too much, especially late in the day can stop you being able to fall asleep.
According to Sleep Education, consuming caffeine six hours before bedtime reduces sleep by one hour.
The effects can be stronger in older adults, because it takes their bodies longer to process the caffeine.
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