There are several well-known sleeping hacks that most have heard about, but few manage to implement. 

I used to be in the same boat until I finally figured out the right strategy: go all in! Yes, I just implemented everything at once. This resulted in such a clear improvement that I just had to keep going. 

All these ideas are summarized below in a quick 2-minute read. Maybe it can entice you to go all in too 🙂

Things to do

If you want to sleep soundly at night, you need to use both your body and your mind actively throughout the day. Be fully present in every moment, get stuff done, and get some physical exercise.

Then, when evening comes, you need to formally slow down:  

1. Give yourself one hour to wind down before bed. 
2. Start a relaxing playlist or some other relaxing audio to queue your wind-down.
3. Choose some wind-down activities such as reading, yoga, meditation or taking a slow walk with your relaxing music.  
4. A warm bath or shower will also help.
5. Do this regularly to turn it into a habit. 

Things to avoid

Stimulants of any kind (coffee, energy drinks, etc.) should be avoided for several hours before bed. Heavy eating and alcohol are two more no-no’s. They may help you fall asleep, but your sleep quality will suffer. 

Then, when you enter that golden hour before bed, the key things to avoid are: 

1. Working or worrying about work. 
2. Any kind of screen time, be it TV, computer or phone. 
3. Any eating or drinking.
4. Bright light or loud music.

Once you put your mind to it, all this is actually quite doable. Getting every night perfect is not going to happen, but getting most nights right is certainly within reach. 

It also helps to track your progress. If you installed Sleep Cycle yesterday, this becomes very easy. You’ll know you’ve arrived if your sleep quality is consistently above 70% with an average score over 80%. My previous week is shown below as an example. 

I wish you a pleasant day, followed by an even more pleasant night!