Sleep Like a Baby With These Simple Tricks

By Stephanie Thoma
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July 30, 2016

If you're like 37% of Americans, chances are you don't feel rested on any given day. What's up with that? You could blame stress, not enough hours in the day, or practically anything else, but you know what that won't get you? Some zzzz's. Read on to discover some ways to sleep like a baby, even when the odds seem stacked against you!

1. Don't hit snooze

It may be tempting to set your alarm for an optimistic, but not entirely realistic time to get up, and hit snooze once (or a few times) before getting up when you "have to." Instead of that, allow yourself to bask in every glorious minute of sleep you can, and when your alarm goes off, know that it's actually time to rise-n-shine.

2. Eat Breakfast\

If you start your day with an empty belly, your body will be mirroring sleep-mode, without the sleep. Talk about zombie status. Just like sunlight alerts your body it's time to engage in the day, a light bite within an hour of waking can do the same.

3. Feng Sui

Get a headboard for stability in your waking (and sleeping) life. Don't store anything of sentimental value under your bed, or it'll be in the back of your mind.

4. Get Chilly

The optimal sleeping temperature is in between 60 and 67 degrees. If you're too hot, you'll stay awake, but this is the slightly cool sweet spot for sweet dreams.

5. No Caffeine after Lunchtime

Yes, we know it should never be too late for a latte, but your sleep cycle begs to differ. Caffeine can stay in your body for up to 10 hours, so limit your intake of it after 2pm, or you could pay for it in zzzz's later.

6. Go Tech Free

If it's within one hour of bedtime, chances are you're scrolling through your Facebook feed, eating up the latest in celebrity gossip and friend's vacation photos. This is severely impacting your quality of counting sheep because the brightness of your screen mimics sunlight, signaling your body to be in an awakened state. Going tech free for an hour (or a few) before bed mimics that wind down, so your body knows it's okay to relax.