Struggling to sleep at night? Here are 6 tips that will help you sleep better.

Over the years I have learned and unlearned a lot of things in life. One of the most important things I have learned is that how important sleep is for every living object on this planet. Healing and repairing in our body takes place when we are sleeping. It plays a major role in how our body and mind function. Poor quality sleep will lead to a poor immune system. What I unlearned is that it doesn't matter how many hours of sleep I had, what matters is that how well I slept. So it's not the quantity but the quality of sleep that matters. Few lifestyle changes will help us have balanced mental and physical health.

Eat an early dinner

To have a good night's sleep, you need to change the time you eat your dinner. It is always a good idea to eat your dinner 3–4 hours before your bedtime. The idea is to digest every ounce of food that you have eaten before you sleep and once the digestion process is done, the quality of sleep is much better. When you eat and sleep within an hour of eating your dinner, the breaking down of your meal takes place in your sleep and that disrupts the quality of sleep and you will end up waking up feeling tired as the body was still at work when it was supposed to rest and repair.

Switch off your gadgets 1 hour prior

Like most people, the last thing we do every night before sleeping is to check our phone, and it's mostly mindless scrolling on social media or watching something on Netflix or Youtube. Staring at the screen before going to bed disrupts the sleep-wake cycle. The emission of artificial lights from the screens stops the secretion of melatonin which puts us to sleep and delays our circadian rhythm. So, keeping away your gadgets an hour before bedtime is a good idea for quality sleep.

Massage the soles of your feet before going to bed:

A 5-minute massage of the soles of your feet with ghee, coconut oil, or sesame oil will help you sleep better as it helps you to relax, helps you get rid of gas, acidity, and bloating.

Write your to-do list for the next day

Before going to sleep we often stress about the next day. Like what are the things we need to do, or what we are going to eat, etc. Instead of that, if you write your to-do list for the next day your mind will be prepared and it will be easier and less stressful for you.

Breathwork

Few rounds of deep inhalation and exhalation help your body to relax and calm down the nervous system. It also prepares your body to go to sleep. Left nostril breathing and Bhramari (Humming bee breath) are the two breathwork that works like magic.

Journaling

I call journaling a brain-dumping session. A lot happens from the time we wake up till we go to sleep. We go through different emotions and we feel so many things and we often don't even talk about it. It is important to have an outlet so that our mind gets rid of all the unwanted noises in our heads. All you need is a pen and a paper, write down all your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and all the random thoughts in your mind on that piece of paper till the time your mind starts feeling empty. This will help you clear that clutter from your mind. Trust me this will help you sleep like a baby.

Things to remember:

Make sure you sleep and wake up at the same time every day because consistency is the key.

You should ideally sleep between 10 p.m.- 11 p.m.

Avoid caffeine or tea before going to sleep.

Keep your phone or any other electronic gadget away from your bed.

Practice reiki(if you are a reiki practitioner) or meditating before sleeping.

Always remember that sleep is a powerful medicine so don't take it for granted.