1. Decrease Stimulation At Night
One thing everyone should be doing is decreasing stimulation at night. You don’t want to use electronic devices with screens at night. Not only do these screens emit blue light which can simulate daylight, but they can also heighten stress and anxiety levels. There are ways to reduce the impact your screens can have on your sleep. One of them is by wearing blue light-filtering glasses. The other would be on-device settings by enabling the built-in blue light filter. Some smartphones can be scheduled to do this automatically so you don’t have to remember every night. You can program it to turn on night mode or blue light mode at a specific time. You also want to ensure you don’t have your phone or other devices ringing or sending out notifications at night. This can disrupt your sleep. Instead, keep your devices off or on “do not disturb” mode.
2. Download a Sleep App
A good thing that you can do is download a sleep application on your mobile phone. A lot of smartphone apps are designed to not only audit your sleep but to help you get better sleep too. Some of the apps will do this by delivering high-quality background noise. Others might help to take you through guided meditation. Regardless, these apps can help you with your sleep either by relaxing you or by drowning out loud noises from the outdoors.
The American Sleep Association in particular has a bunch of apps they recommend that include:
– Relax Melodies
This is an app that places different melodies and soothing sounds that can relax you.
– Pzizz
This is an app that uses sound effects, music, and binaural beats to help you fall asleep quicker.
This is a sleep app that effectively tracks your sleep. It records your sleep habits and it will detect when you are entering your lightest sleep phase to sound the alarm. This ensures you don’t wake up groggy.
3. Use Your Fitness Tracker
Nowadays, you have fitness trackers and smartwatches. Both of these can be invaluable for improving your sleep. These devices can typically monitor your sleep schedule and patterns. While they aren’t 100% accurate, they do a good job of showing you whether or not you have specific difficulties sleeping at night. They can tell you how much you are moving, what sleep cycles you go through, and more. The data can give you a lot of information that you can use to improve your sleep. You’ll want to use an app like Sleep Cycle which will utilize your phone’s microphone to pick up on noises while you are sleeping. You can use this data and discuss it with your doctor if you think that your sleep is being inhibited or disrupted for whatever reason. They can offer more testing if needed.
4. Stop Napping
One of the worst things you can do if you want to get quality sleep at night is to nap throughout the day. Try to avoid napping if possible. If you are urging for a nap mid-day, try to do something to take your mind off being tired. Don’t reach for that sugary energy drink. Instead, get on your devices and start engaging with people on social media or do something stimulating like playing a mobile game. This can help to keep you from wanting to fall asleep during the day which can have devastating effects on your ability to sleep at night.
5. Use Tech In Your Bedroom
While you want to limit some use of tech in your bedroom, that doesn’t include this one. Use Dodow which is a device that projects a very soft pulsating light onto the ceiling. Using this, you can sync up your breathing with the light. This can help to slow down your heart rate and get you in a relaxed state of mind making it easier to fall asleep.
You can also opt for a smart bed. A smart bed can include various features that can improve your sleep. Some of them are climate control, pressure adjustments, and even sleep-inducing vibrations. If you are constantly being disturbed by sudden noises or your partner’s snoring, you could consider using white noise too. This can help to drown out the unpredictable and bothersome noises and give you something much more soothing.
6. Get More Smart Tech
If your staying awake worried about your teen not sleeping, you can always put a limit on when WiFi can be used. You can install security cameras and a smart security system to put your mind at ease at night. You can even install automatic lights that will dim based on what time of day it is so you are ready to go to sleep once you get into bed. This expert view of Mattress Firm will help you to ensure that you have the best mattress to aid a great night’s sleep.
