5 Tips for Better Sleep Routine

Do you struggle falling asleep and staying asleep at night? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Unfortunately millions of Americans struggle with sleep problems and don’t get the sleep their minds and bodies truly need. Between 10% and 30% of adults struggle with chronic insomnia in the United States, and even more than that report chronic sleep disturbances.

Sleep is arguably the most important role in maintaining good health. A good night’s sleep emowers your mind and body to recover fully, allowing you to wake up refreshed and ready to take on the day.

Sleep is too complex to sum up in numbers and data, it’s not a one-size-fits all, just like ‘wellness’ in general. There are many personal preferences to an individual sleep routine. However, below are a few statistics about how we sleep, to give you a better understanding of the importance of building a healthy sleep routine.

• REM sleep is approximately 20-25% of total sleep time (in healthy adults), and we can experience up to 4-6 sleep cycles in one night.
• On average, people spend about 2-hrs per night dreaming.
• Body temperature and metabolism drop during sleep.
• Circadian rhythm (your internal clock) is a key component for healthy sleep, and a key driver of this rhythm is made up of ~20,000 neurons!

There are many factors that interfere with a good night’s sleep – from family and work stress, to chronic pain, mental illnesses, etc. While you might not be able to control all the factors that cause sleep disturbances in your life, one thing you can control is building a healthy and consistent sleep routine. This will help your circadian rhythm, the natural physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hr cycle, develop a healthy response to night time sleep queues. When your internal master clock, or circadian rhythm, is regulated correctly your body will naturally know when to fall asleep and wake up.

5 tips for better sleep

1. Stick to a sleep schedule. On average, adults between the ages of 18-64 need 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Adults over 65+ need between 7-8 hours. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. Consistency reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle.
2. Prepare your bedroom. Transform your room into a sleep oasis, making it as dark as possible, quiet and turn down the thermostat somewhere between 65-68 degrees fahrenheit. Your body naturally drops in temperature at night. It also produces the most melatonin in the darkness, so help it out by preparing your room for optimal sleep.
3. Put away electronics. No screens for a dreamy night's sleep. While it’s so tempting to watch TV or scroll through social media late at night, electronic devices (computers, TV, smartphones, tablets) all emit strong blue night which floods your brain and tricks it into thinking it's daytime. As a result, your brain suppresses melatonin, signaling your brain to stay awake – big no-no!
4. Stretch, breath and relax. Give your body some final sleep queues with a few relaxation techniques such as deep stretching and breathing exercises. This can help release physical, mental or emotional tension that might be built up from your day. If you’re someone who likes to meditate, this is also a great sleep queue at night.
5. Incorporate natural sleep aids. Many people also prefer to incorporate natural sleep aids like tea, lavender scents or botanical sleep blends scientifically formulated to help calm your mind and body from head to toe.

Sleep is essential to feeling your best, everyday. It’s also very personal and building a healthy sleep routine is not a one-size-fits all. There are many different approaches to building a routine, however we hope the above information is useful. If you'd like to learn more about how CBD specifically helps with sleep, click here.