14 More Incredibly Easy Ways to Sleep Better

More Incredibly Easy Ways to Sleep Better continues the series on Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Life.

See here for what this series is about, and scroll to the bottom or click here for a list of other entries in the series. Also see the end of the post for details on submitting your own incredibly easy life-improvements.

Incredibly Easy Ways to Sleep Better

Sleeping better is something that can have a dramatic improvement on all areas of your life. Your happiness, your productivity, your relationships, and your time management.

But let’s be real. You already know plenty of ways to sleep better. It’s just that they’re wildly unrealistic, take way too much willpower, or involve sacrificing things that make you happy.

You can’t very well decide not to get up to feed your baby because you’d rather be well-rested. There’s only so many hours in the day to get things done, with barely enough left over to relax and unwind.

And don’t worry. I’m not going to be the eleventy-billionth person to tell you to avoid looking at screens after 6:00 PM. Because come on. Nobody actually does that. (Though you should wear orange glasses when looking at screens.)

Two months ago, I wrote an article on 15 Incredibly Easy Ways to Improve Your Sleep. At the end of the article, I asked for readers to send in suggestions. I got a lot of responses, and here are the best ones. (Plus a few more I added.)

As with everything in the Incredibly Easy series, all of these suggestions take minimal effort, cost, willpower, or time commitment.

(I didn’t include the reader suggestion to sleep better by giving away your children. That’s not incredibly easy, and I don’t think she was being serious.)

Sleep better by getting comfortable

This first thing you want to do to sleep better is ensure that you are comfortable.

Here are some incredibly easy ways to help with that.

1. Set your bedroom to the right temperature an hour before bed

(Submitted by Nate W)

Most people sleep better when their bedroom is on the cooler side. But everyone is different, and this may not be true of you.

You probably already know what temperature you sleep best at.

Set your thermostat to that temperature an hour before bedtime. Maybe even set an alarm/reminder for this.

That way you won’t be freezing or roasting while trying to fall asleep because you forgot to set the right temperature.

Or be all settled in and about to fall asleep and then have to get up again when you suddenly remember to adjust your thermostat.

Or be miserable while you wait for the temperature to catch up to what you set.

Even better, get a smart thermostat, as suggested in 12 Incredibly Easy Ways to Save Money on Utilities and Vehicles. Then you can set a schedule and not even have to think about it.

2. Wear socks to bed

Everyone hates settling into bed and having freezing cold feet.

And your partner also hates it when your feet are cold. There’s a reason that’s the metaphor for not wanting to get married.

You can solve this by wearing comfy socks to bed. If your feet get too hot, it’s simple enough to slip the socks off.

Whereas if your feet are too cold, it’s a lot more effort to get out of bed, walk over to the dresser, pull out a pair of socks, put them on, and come back to bed.

Sleep apnea can stop you from sleeping better

It’s estimated that 26% of adults between the ages of 30 and 70 suffer from sleep apnea, and that could be what’s keeping you from getting a good night’s sleep.

3. If you have poor sleep, get checked for sleep apnea. Especially if you snore or are overweight

(Submitted by Robin Dowds)

Many people have sleep apnea and don’t know it.

Sleep apnea is when you briefly stop breathing while sleeping, and your brain wakes you up so that you can reopen your airways.

Your doctor can refer you to a sleep specialist who can check you for this, and it can be treated with either a CPAP machine or a mouth appliance.

(A CPAP is a mask you wear while sleeping that creates positive air pressure to keep your airways open.)

Wearing something on your face or in your mouth every night when you sleep may not sound incredibly easy. But you quickly get used to it.

I personally wear a nightguard because I grind my teeth in my sleep, and it’s no big deal.

This is something that can give you an immediate and enormous improvement in your life. Imagine waking up every day well-rested.

And by stopping your snoring, it will greatly improve your partner’s life as well.

4. If you have sleep apnea, snore, or are overweight, avoid sleeping on your back

(submitted by Robin Dowds)

Sleeping on your back is one of the best positions for most people. (See item 11 here.) But if you have or may have sleep apnea, it’s one of the worst positions.

This is the position where sleep apnea is most likely to occur.

Even if you haven’t been checked for sleep apnea, if you have these risk factors, try sleeping on your side and see how you feel.

Again, this can also help your partner sleep better, if your snoring is keeping them awake.

Ways to sleep better if you have children

Note:

Because I don’t have kids, I generally try to avoid giving advice related to children. (Beyond being mindful that parents face a lot of difficulties that I don’t.)

The next five entries are based on reader submissions and what friends have told me. They sound like good ideas to me. But I lack the experience to evaluate if they truly are, or if they genuinely are incredibly easy.

I just wanted to be up-front about that.

5. Don’t try to get everything done after the kids go to bed

(Submitted by Rob Cimperman)

The kids aren’t going to sleep in just because you’re up late.

Don’t try to cram everything into the limited space between their bedtime and yours, because that space will inevitably end up expanding.

6. Put all your kids on the same sleep schedule

(Submitted by Rob Cimperman)

You can only sleep when both/all your kids are asleep.

While you shouldn’t try to do everything after the kids’ bedtime, there are some productive and entertaining things you can only do when the kids are asleep.

Letting one kid stay up later than another cuts into this time. Especially if the other kid ends up getting up earlier.

7. Have lots of closed doors between you and sleeping kids

(Submitted by Rob Cimperman)

Kids make lots of weird noises during the night.

Putting some doors between you will keep that from interrupting your sleep.

Anything you need to hear will be loud enough.

(At least once the kids are old enough that they’re not going to hurt themselves or get into dangerous situations at night. Not while they’re still in the baby monitor phase.)

8. Don’t let your kids sneak into your room/bed

(Submitted by Rob Cimperman)

Establish ground rules and boundaries where your children need to stay in their own beds and are not permitted to sleep with you.

It will be better for your sleep, and ultimately better for your children’s sleep as well.

Plus it will also be good for your relationship and intimacy with your partner.

9. Remember that you can hire babysitters for the mornings

I have friends that love to throw game night parties that last very late.

When they had kids, they didn’t want to give up the parties that were one of their favorite things, so they came up with a clever plan.

They’d start the game night once the kids were asleep upstairs. And collapse into bed when things ended at 3:00 or 4:00 AM.

Then at 6:00 AM, a trusted babysitter who had a key to their house would show up to handle the kids for the morning, until my friends crawled out of bed after getting enough sleep.

(At least, that’s what they did pre-COVID. Maybe this is something you can try once the world gets back to normal.)

Okay, that’s enough advice about raising children.

Now back to things I have actual knowledge of, and don’t have to rely on second-hand experience.

Ways to be better at falling asleep

Sleep Better - Koala — _{^{Photo by Cris Saur on Unsplash}}

You’ve made sure you’re comfortable. You’ve dealt with any sleep apnea issues. And if you have kids, they’re tucked away in bed.

Now it’s time to actually fall asleep.

If you have difficulty with that, here are some suggestions to help.

10. If you can’t sleep, go to another room to read or do chores until you feel tired

(Submitted by Robin Dowds)

Laying in bed thinking about how you can’t sleep increases your anxiety. Which makes it harder to sleep. Which makes you think more about how you can’t sleep. Which increases your anxiety.

Break this cycle by getting up, moving to a different room, and taking your mind off things.

Read a relaxing book, or do some sedate chores until you feel tired.

Just make sure it’s a book or chore that doesn’t stress you out.

And it’s better if you wear orange glasses and keep the lighting dimmer while you do this.

Also, as much as I criticize the “avoid screens before bedtime” advice as unrealistic, in this situation it’s probably better to stick to a paper book or e-ink, rather than reading from a phone or tablet.

11. Meditate at bedtime

A lot of one-size-fits-all self-help gurus demand that you meditate.

I say meditation is good for some people and not for others. If you don’t find it helpful, I’m not going to get all preachy about it. You do you.

Even if you don’t think meditation is right for you in general, it’s worth considering to help with sleep. Especially if you struggle with quieting your mind at bedtime.

One of my first articles was laying out an extremely easy way to meditate for beginners.

You could also try guided sleep meditations. There are a bajillion apps offering this. Headspace and MyLife are freemium apps that have a limited number of sleep meditations among their free offerings. Serenity is a paid app which is fairly inexpensive, especially if you only get the sleep meditations.

I think Serenity’s paid sleep meditations are better than Headspace and MyLife’s free ones. I haven’t tried any of Headspace of MyLife’s paid meditations, so I can’t comment on them.

If any readers would like to offer their assessments or reviews of meditation apps in the comments, I’d love to hear them.

12. Use breathing relaxation

(submitted by Rob Cimperman)

There are different types of breathing relaxations.

One is to inhale for 8 seconds, hold it for 4 seconds, and then exhale for 8 seconds.

Another is to inhale for 4 seconds, and then exhale for 8 seconds.

A popular one is called 4-7-8 breathing. Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, then exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds while making a “whoosh” sound.

With each of these, try to breathe deeply into your abdomen, and not into your chest.

There are many other methods of breathing relaxation. Find one that works for you.

13. Use progressive muscle relaxation

(Submitted by Rob Cimperman)

Progressive muscle relaxation is where you focus on different parts of your body, and consciously relax them.

Focus on your feet for a few seconds, and let them relax. Then focus on your calves, and let them relax. Then your knees.

Move up your body until you reach your shoulders. Then move out your arms to your hands. Then relax your neck, your jaw/mouth, and your face.

This should help your entire body relax, and remove any tension that’s interfering with your sleep.

14. Don’t use your bed for anything other than sleep and sex

(Submitted by both Scott Schneider and Ross Hilder)

Every time you do something, you’re building habits, training yourself, and training your body.

If you sit in bed while working, or watching TV, or surfing Facebook, you’re telling your body that’s what the bed is for.

So when it’s time for sleep, you get into bed and your body is expecting you to do something else. You’re confusing the cues your body uses to know what’s going on.

But if you only use the bed for sleep, then whenever you get into bed, your body will understand that cue and shift into sleep mode.

It’s okay to also use the bed for sex – especially since that usually comes right before or after sleep – but avoid using the bed for anything else.

Conclusion: Sleep better to live better

I hope you’re able to put this advice to use so that you can sleep better.

Other than getting tested for sleep apnea, these are all things you can start doing today.

Let me know how it goes for you, and if you have any additional tips.

A final note:

Over the last three months and 11 articles, I’ve given 138 incredibly easy ways to improve your life.

The final article in the Incredibly Easy series will be next week. After that, I’ll return to my normal style of long-form articles.

That means this is your last chance to submit any suggestions you’d like to be included.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this series as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

Do you have any thoughts on the items on this list?

Or suggestions of others to add?

I’d love to hear from you.

If you have suggestions of incredibly easy ways to sleep better, or any other ways to improve your life, please send them to me so I can include them in a future entry. You can comment here, e-mail stevenraymarks at gmail.com, or tweet/DM to @YourselfHelping.

Other entries in the Incredibly Easy series:

Like learning about easy life-improvements? Subscribe to Five Boosts to receive five weekly suggestions of articles on easy ways to make your life better. You’ll also receive a free copy of 24 Ways to Improve Your Life, featuring summaries and analysis of 24 of the top self-help books.

14 More Incredibly Easy Ways to Sleep Better

Incredibly Easy Ways to Sleep Better

Sleep better by getting comfortable