The key to an amazing day is a great night’s sleep. But, sometimes life can get hectic, and our sleep schedule can suffer. Whether it’s picking up an extra shift at work or traveling through time zones.
When our sleep schedule gets out of whack, it’s easy to feel tired and irritable throughout the day. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to fix a sleep schedule and get back on track. If you’re having trouble sleeping here are five tips for fixing your sleep schedule.
1. Reset Your Schedule
The best way to feel less tired is to stick to a sleep schedule. Although this can get disrupted by many different factors in life, sticking to a schedule is the only way to feel well-rested. While a nap might seem like a good way to help you feel less tired, it won’t do as much good as sticking to a schedule.
One way to reset your internal sleep clock is to take small steps. When it comes to adjusting your sleep schedule, a good rule of thumb is to make changes by 30 minutes a day. Try going to bed 30 minutes earlier or waking up 30 minutes earlier until you get to your preferred sleep schedule. Once you make these small changes and get to a schedule that you can stick to, stick to it!
2. Start a Nighttime Routine
A great way to stick to a sleep schedule is to create a routine around your bedtime. Humans are creatures of habit and psychologically become attuned to certain routines. Creating a routine before bed can help you relax and always be ready to sleep on time. Some techniques you can put into your nighttime routine include:
- Skincare
- Relaxation
- Meditation
The more consistently you stick to these activities, the more your brain and body will associate them with sleep. So adding a nighttime routine to your daily routine will help you better stick to and maintain a solid sleep schedule.
3. Get A Daily Dose of Natural Light
One of the things that affect our sleep schedules is our exposure to natural light. Maybe you work in an office all day away from windows. Or you may do shift work and work throughout the night and sleep during the day. You may just not have the opportunity to get natural light.
If you live in a state that gets a ton of natural sunlight like Florida, make it a point to get outside at least once a day. Florida is also a state that offers medical marijuana cards to qualified parties. Check out additional information on how medical marijuana can be a great natural sleep aid in addition to natural sunlight.
Taking the time to get exposure to natural light can help our body’s natural circadian rhythms. These cycles affect how we sleep and how well we sleep. It’s natural for the body to wake up with the sun and go to sleep when it sets. Daily life can make this difficult, but if you prioritize exposure to natural light, your sleep cycle can greatly benefit.
4. Cut Down on Alcohol and Caffeine
Both alcohol and caffeine are players in messing up sleep cycles. Caffeine keeps you awake. Although we think of alcohol as making us sleepy, it actually negatively affects the sleep cycle and makes people more prone to waking up throughout the night.
5. Limit Your Screen Time
One of the biggest disruptions to your sleep cycle can be using your phone or computer before going to bed. The blue light that emanates from our screens can affect our circadian rhythms and keep us awake when we use them. If you find your sleep schedule is getting out of whack, try cutting down on your screen time. This is especially important at night.
You can try to swap out your nightly scroll for a good book. Little changes like this can help your sleep schedule immensely and get you back on track for a good night’s sleep.
Conclusion
Getting enough sleep can be a difficult task. Everyone has busy lives and because of that our sleep can be affected. But it’s not too hard to get your sleep schedule back on track. Just changing your nightly routine and small habits can make a huge difference when it comes to sleeping well. If you’re struggling with your sleep schedule try some of these tips and tricks. You should be sleeping and well-rested in no time.
