UDPATED 03/15/2025
I never really sleep well. Tossing and turning is the norm for me. I used to think it was normal and it turns out, I was right. But I’ve also learned that you shouldn’t have to be in a constant battle of trying to get comfortable throughout the night. After all, this is the time should be the time when our bodies rest and rejuvenate.
On my quest to get a better night’s rest, I decided to read this book Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson. And I can honestly say, the book helped me change my sleep habits. The author talks about how we need to value our sleep and make small changes to make the quality better. This post is not a book review, though. Rather it’s a post about how small changes have made my sleep better.
I used to say “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. By not sleeping, I’m actually getting closer to it faster than I’d like. I stay up late, play on my cell phone, and sometimes have a caffeinated beverage before bed. These things equal bad news so I made four small changes to help me get the quality sleep my body needs:
- Getting more sunlight during the day
- Avoiding screen time an hour before bed
- Stop drinking caffeine by mid-afternoon
- Having a go-to a bedtime
These might not sound like monumental changes, they have been helping. It was the Summer when I originally wrote this post. I was sitting on my deck, listening to the sounds of the birds chirping and feeling the sun on my skin. And I was naturally getting more sunlight during the day so I try to spend as much time outside as possible. Now that I run my own business and work from home full time, I plan to do a lot of my work outside as the weather gets nicer.
Avoiding the screen time has always been tough. Especially as a business owner. Almost the entire population is close to being on our phones 24/7 because of the easy access and constant connectivity. We just can’t seem to put them down. At bedtime, we “wind down” by playing games with the lights off but this is so counterproductive. The problem is, the blue light put off by electronics keeps our brains active and makes us think that we’re still awake. So I tried something rash and put my cell phone in my office as a test. Guess what? I started to sleep through the night! Now I’m a believer. I stop using my electornics around 8:00 PM and my cell phone stays in in my office overnight.
If you know me or have been a long time follower, you know I’m a coffee lover. Bold and black or specialty iced, lattes are my go-to beverages. I used to stop drinking coffee around 4:00 PM and thought it was ok to have soda (usually mixed with something stronger) with dinner once in a while. Little did I know that all types of caffeine was impacting my sleep. It takes for caffeine to leave our bodies so even if you stop drinking caffeinated drinks early in the day, the caffeine is still in your system when you hit the pillow. So I’ve stopped drinking anything with caffeine around lunch time. After lunch, it’s water, water and more water. Since I made this change, most days my brain isn’t moving like a ticker tape when I head to bed.
It might seem funny to set a bedtime, but it’s not just for children. I’ve always tried to make sure I’m in bed before 10:00 PM, but to help me wind down for bed, I start my routine earlier. I plug in my phone around 8:00 PM, get in bed around 9:00 PM, and read for an hour. I get to read more books and tell my brain that it’s lights out at 10:00 PM.
One other change I made was trying a sleep gummy. Sometimes I need some extra help shutting the brain off so I take Soul CBD Sleepi Gummies to help stop my racing thoughts. The blueberry lemonade flavor is my absolute favorite. All I need is one and I’m out in 20 minutes flat. Use my link to save $20 off your first order of $50+.
With these small changes, my sleep has totally been transformed. If you want better sleep, start to make small changes tonight. Try the things I did and see if they work. If they don’t, find something that does. But once you figure out what changes to make, I can guarantee your sleep quality will forever be changed.
