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Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health. But the sad truth is that most people just don’t get enough sleep. To help, here are some healthy sleep solutions for a better night’s sleep.

Adults need to get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Unfortunately, most people just don’t get enough. It’s been said that 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep. Coupled with normal life stressors, the unsettling state of global current events can be too much.T

There is a worrisome amount of sleep deprivation in this country and it’s having a drastic effect on your health.

Lack of quality sleep has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, short-term memory loss, immune suppression, disease amplification and more. But, you don’t have to take this lying down (or maybe you want to).

Put these tips to use right away to get your sleep back.

Healthy Sleep Solutions for Sleep Management

Fix Your Bed

This is not what you think. If you want to have a get a better night’s sleep, you might as well start by talking about where you sleep first.

Did you know that cotton is considered the world’s dirtiest crop? It’s doused in billions of dollars of pesticides. These pesticides then make their way onto clothing and personal items. And while most of us are not ready to swap out our favorite outfits (including me), upgrading your mattress and bedding to organic brands are two things you can do to get a healthier and better night’s sleep.

Shop GOT Approved – Organic Mattress Brand

Considering that you spend so much of your life in bed, do you really want to be laying on a bed of chemicals every night? On average, mattresses should be changed every 7-10 years. So when it’s time to upgrade, consider buying an organic mattress instead.

For a quick change (and less expensive change) you can make right away, swap out your non-organic pillows and bedding options for organic cotton bed sheets.

Cheaply made bedding and sheets can emit toxic chemicals and be less supportive to a healthy night’s sleep.

Synthetic fragrances and dyes often found in laundry detergent can also be robbing you from a restorative and healthy sleep. So reach for gentle products on laundry day and you’ll doing something good for you and the environment too.

Here’s a gentle laundry detergent that you can buy on Amazon. It cleans clothes well without leaving all those toxic residues.

Pro Tip: There’s nothing like sleeping in a clean made bed. Making your bed (something we should have been taught from the time we were kids), helps set your intentions for the day and gives a sense of accomplishment for the day.

Control the Light

woman with afro wearing a pink sleep mask in background

The wrong kind of light can wreak havoc on your sleep. There are several culprits that could be robbing you from the wellness sleep you crave.

Blocking Artificial Light

Invest in a pair of blue light glasses to limit the harmful effect of artificial light from TV’s, smart phones, tablets and devices. You should be put on these blue light glasses once the sun sets.

These are currently my blue light blockers of choice but they often sell out.

Also consider swapping out the lightbulbs in your bedroom for sleep lighting. These red lights reduce stress, anxiety, help to increase melatonin and induce a better night’s sleep.

Another noteworthy option is using Blue Light filters made for phones, desktops and smart screens directly. There are several apps to choose from. Also check within your phone’s internal settings to see if there’s a blue light filter already built in.

Blocking Natural Light

There is another type of light to contend with when it comes a getting a good night’s rest and that’s natural light. Depending on what time you’re going to sleep or plan to wake up, blackout curtains can be an excellent tool to limit light that creeps into your bedroom when you least expect it.

If the sun rises at 6:00am and your alarm clock is set for 7:30am, that 1.5 hours of sleep you could be missing out on if you’re not adequately blocking the light.

Pro Tip: Learn to use light to your advantage. Exposure of bare skin to bright sunlight for 10-15 minutes every morning and avoiding bright artificial light at bedtime, can help set your circadian rhythm and set you on a path to blissful sleep. An hour before bed, dim bright lights around your home to get ready for bed.

Try a Supplement

When it comes to picking an OTC remedy to help get a good night’s rest, most people have tried or heard of melatonin.

Melatonin is is a hormone that is secreted by the pineal gland and is chiefly responsible for setting the body’s circadian rhythm. While taking supplemental melatonin may be good for some, taking too much can actually have the opposite effect and disrupt sleep.

In addition because melatonin is a hormone that the body produces, taking exogenous sources can cause a disruption in the body’s natural production of hormones. There are also potential side effects like dizziness, groggy/sleepiness during daytime hours and headaches and nausea.

While these side effects don’t occur in everyone, it’s important to be mindful if they do occur. There are also some contraindications to melatonin use including: chronic insomnia, restless leg syndrome and dementia. This doesn’t mean that taking supplemental melatonin should not be explored but only for a short term solution.

Ideally you should be eating the right foods, and practicing healthy sleep habits to support healthy melatonin levels.

Wind Down

Whenever putting a baby or young child in bed, you never just drop the baby in the bed and walk away. You may first give the child some milk or a filling dinner, followed by soothing lavender bath, read a bedtime story, say prayers and then follow that with a goodnight hug or kiss.

Although adults like to act like they’re are grown and flown, we need bedtime routines too. For an adult, the winddown bedtime routine could look like this:

Eat a sensible early dinner (try not to eat 2-3 hours before bedtime)

Close the curtains/drapes

Refrain from the screen 1 hour-before bedtime (TV, telephones, tablets and the like)

Take a bath or shower

Drink a cup of caffeine free herbal tea

Read a few pages from a relaxing book (nothing too adrenaline pumping)

Turn on your phone’s airplane mode and go to bed.

Notice that’s there’s nothing listed here about binge watching your favorite tv show, scrolling past the latest pictures on Instagram or pulling out your favorite late-night snacks after the kids have gone to bed. It has the opposite effect of winding down and is just not part of the plan.

Set a Bedtime

Adults love telling other people how “grown they are”. And one of the things that make adults “grown”, is going to sleep any time they want. As a result, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like this next tip. But, if you want to experience wellness sleep (the kind of sleep that will build you up, boost your immunity, maximize your energy, increase your patience, and turn you into somewhat of a superhuman version of yourself), you have to set a reasonable bedtime.

Not only do you need to set a bedtime but, the bedtime should be the same time everyday. This is the case, whether it’s a weekday or weekend, holiday or workday.

Setting a consistent bedtime routine helps solidify your circadian rhythm, trains your brain to feel sleepy at bedtime, may reduce the need for an alarm clock and minimizes sleep disturbances. Both Android and iPhones even have a feature that let’s you set a bedtime every night. Who said the alarms were only for waking up?

Sleep is a biological and physiological process that nearly all animals need. Just because you’re getting some sleep, doesn’t mean that you’re getting enough or even the right type of sleep. For example, Rapid Eye Movement Sleep or REM sleep (which occurs in the last phase of the sleep cycle), is often cut off by alarm clocks, late bedtimes paired with early awakenings, busy schedules and more. REM sleep is also the phase of the sleep cycle where most dreaming occurs.

But What If I Don’t Dream or Remember My Dreams?

Not having or remembering your dreams can mean that you’re not getting enough REM sleep, but it could mean something else too. The best way to tell is to get a sleep tracker to help get to the bottom of the issue.

Getting a sleep tracker like this one can help to identify weaknesses in your sleep/wake routine. Just make sure to put the ring on airplane mode so that you’re no wearing WIFI all day long (which would defeat the purpose!)

Sleep tracker rings like this one, will continue to collect data in airplane mode for up to a week.

But, before you get to that point, start by using the above healthy sleep solutions, to regain control of your sleep life.

Deep restful sleep is restorative and allows your body to rebuild, repair and renew itself for a healthier way of life.

For a complete list of sleep products for a healthier night’s rest, be sure to click into my Amazon Shop.