Before Your Sweet Dreams: How to Make the Perfect Bedtime Routine

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If there's one thing we need to protect with our lives, it's our sleep. There's so much stress in life, and we need our sleep to recharge. But many people feel getting to sleep is one of the more difficult things. The solution is all about the perfect bedtime routine. Far from it being something just for kids, the right bedtime routine can do a lot for us. But how can we make the perfect bedtime routine?

I for one have been struggling with very vivid dreams myself these last few months. Dreams that do not work in reality, things like my children back when they were children as well as my grandchildren in the same dream, just not possible.

Make your bed as comfortable as possible

Giving your bedroom a makeover and generally make it more appealing will make you crave your bed more. Perhaps you don't get time to read during the day. In which case, having that book at bedtime can be the one opportunity for you to unwind and get away from all the external worries. Give yourself the opportunity to want to go to bed and read. Purchase a special pair of glasses off a website like Eyeglasses.com and make your bed as comfortable as possible. Before you know it, you will be wanting to go to bed a little bit earlier than normal!

Lower the temperature

You need your bedroom to be at the ideal temperature for sleep, which is between 16 and 18 degrees. You have to remember that anything over 20 degrees can make your body and mind restless. If you can lower the temperature in your room, this is a good start, but by having a cold shower you are able to lower your body temperature to signal your brain to be more relaxed. In fact, there is more advice on Sleepadvisor.org about cold showers before bed and what they can do for your body. As soon as you start to lower the temperature, you are signalling to your body that it's time to unwind.

Avoid your phone

It could be tempting to get your phone out before bedtime because you've not looked at it all day. But the blue light could disrupt your sleep by stopping melatonin, the sleep hormone. The best thing to do is to get rid of all electronics from the bedroom and make the place as dark as possible.

Don't eat right before bed

When you eat a snack an hour or so before bed you are still digesting it when you climb in. Ideally, you would want to have your last morsel of food 3 hours before you get into bed. This means that there is no digesting going on so you are able to feel better at night and the next day. Perhaps as a precursor to your bedtime routine, think about having some food. It gives you one less thing to think about so you can focus on relaxing rather than being hungry.

We need to protect our bedtime routines with our lives because we need our 7 to 9 hours a night. Many people still feel sluggish the next day. If this is you, think about a bedtime routine that signals your body and brain it's time for bed but it's also something you enjoy doing. After a while, you will look forward to it.