How to get better sleep

A good night’s sleep is required if you want the day to be filled with positive energy, performance and motivation. If you lie tossing and turning all night without sleep, it will affect your everyday life and your concentration. However, being tired in the morning or lying sleepless a few nights, should not be confused with lack of sleep. If you are more tired than usual when you wake up, it may depend on the stage of sleep you wake up during. For example, if you wake up during deep sleep, you will experience greater fatigue than if you wake up in the falling asleep phase, which is a more easily awakened stage. Not being able to sleep for a few nights is nothing dangerous, and it happens to all of us from time to time.

Regular bedtimes

The amount of sleep each individual needs varies. Different lifestyles require different sleep needs. Some can get by with fewer hours, while others need a little more. 6-9 hours a night is a normal sleep pattern.

Movement

It is no news that exercise and training contribute to a healthier lifestyle. You use up energy that allows you to sleep well at night. Even if you have a lot to do and feel too stressed to go for a run or a walk, it can be just what you need to balance your body and mind.

Related: How to get started with running

 

Turn off mobile phone

When you cannot sleep, it is easy to stay glued to your mobile phone and accidentally dive deep into various Wikipedia pages to find out if bats are de facto descended from the flying Pteranodon or what Cat Stevens' real name is. Turn off your phone or put it on airplane mode, even if it is a curiosity good enough to know. The screen light with its blue light also has an impact on us and makes us more alert, which has the opposite effect when we actually want to fall asleep.

Write down your thoughts

Do you lie in bed and think about the best arguments and formulations for an upcoming important meeting instead of sleeping? Often the thoughts can wander into the small hours and suddenly you are analysing different scenarios in your head, often with many good ideas. In these situations, the best thing to do is to defy the above advice and pick up that phone again - or use a notebook - and write down your thoughts. In this way, you move the thoughts from your brain to text form and can hopefully then relax.