5 Battle-Tested Tips To Defeat Insomnia
Stamped with approval (and written) by a recovering insomniac.
I’m guessing you’re reading this because sleep is playing hard to get. Don’t worry. Sleep evades even the most sound sleepers every once in a while. But, for the ones who it hides from regularly (like myself), I’ve got 5 tips that (if you commit to them) can help you wrangle in sleep once and for all.
1. Set a Caffeine Cut-Off Time (and Stick to It)
This is number one for a reason. If you’re drinking caffeine late into the day because you didn’t get enough sleep the night before, then I’m sorry to break it to you: you’re stuck in a vicious cycle.
Go ahead, open up your calendar, and create an event (at least) 10 hours before your normal bedtime called “No More Caffeine”.
Set it to repeat every day. This will help build the habit of cutting yourself off from caffeine at a decent hour.
And, notice how I say ‘caffeine’ and not just ‘coffee’. Other caffeinated consumables you should avoid within 10 hours of bedtime are green tea, black tea, and chocolate… yes, even chocolate *tear*.
As a bonus, limiting my alcohol intake has also done wonders for my sleep.
2. Create Your Ideal Sleep Environment (and Routine)
If you’ve never thought about your sleep environment and routine… this can be a game changer.
Here’s a simple 3-point checklist to help create yours (take it or leave it):
- Make sure your room is cool enough to sleep comfortably, but not so cold you’re shivering all night. Some sleep gurus say you need to sleep at 60–67º F (or 15–19º C)… which is ridiculously cold to a warm-blood like me. So, test it out and see which temp works best for you. Also, if you can program your AC to rise a couple degrees right before you wake up, it will help get you out of those comfy covers in the morning.
- Charge your phone across the room (or even better, in another room), and don’t look at screens within one hour of bedtime. And, for an authentic ‘Amish Hour’, I like to light a candle (or a few) and turn off all the lights in my house for that last hour as well.
- Play some soothing sounds while you’re lying in bed to get your mind off the stresses of your day. I like an app called Oak. I use it for meditation, breathwork, and sleep sounds (all good habits for improving sleep quality). Use this time to either drift away or (if you’re feeling anxious) write down everything you’re currently worried about and everything you need to get done the next day to slide into a more peaceful slumber.
3. Sweat Daily
Modern society gives us a choice: to sweat or not to sweat.
If you wanted, you could go from your air-conditioned house to your air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned office every day.
If you’re anything like me, then you’ve probably had a stretch of days where you never left an air-conditioned environment. Shit happens. But, it’s taking a slow toll on you.
While this comfort is extremely… well, comfortable… it can leave us with a ton of stored energy that we’re meant to expend daily (that’s kinda why we have it).
Instead, challenge yourself to get outside (sunlight also does wonders for your circadian rhythms) and sweat.
Go for a run till you’re huffing and puffing. Play basketball with some friends. Strike a few yoga poses at your local park.
Whatever floats your boat. Even if you only have 10 minutes. Just do it. More is not always better.
4. Reduce Bluelight After Sunset
Smartphones are a core part of our daily lives now. And, even though you may keep your old Nokia in a box somewhere to show your kids one day… you’re likely using a device with a high-brightness, high-resolution display for your day-to-day work (if not, more power to you).
Although we can agree that these devices make life more efficient, we have to remember those silky smooth screens emit something called high energy visible (HEV) blue light.
This type of light is damaging to your eyes over the long haul. And, in the short-term, damaging to your quality of sleep (and life).
There are 2 big things you can do to avoid these problems:
- Turn ‘Night Shift’ (probably a similar name for Android) on from sunset to sunrise. This will change the lighting on your screen to emit less blue light, which will in turn help protect your sleep.
- Pick up some blue light blocking glasses like these. They filter out the harmful blue light waves that I mentioned above which will also help protect your sleep. You don’t need to wear them all day. Just after sunset or around 5 hours before bed if you live somewhere the sun never sets.
Credit where credit is due: Chris Winters, entrepreneur and all-around health expert, told me if I want to sleep better, I should grab a pair of blue light blocking glasses and wear them 5 hours before bed (he also suggested zero caffeine and zero alcohol).
5. Take Supplements
Notice how this is the last item on the list. I did that on purpose.
Most people look for a magic pill when it comes to getting what they want in life. But, almost all sustained success is built on hard and consistent work (aka 1–4).
Now that I’ve said that, there are 4 supplements I’ve found (after immense research) to be most helpful in calming myself down before bed:
- Magnesium
- Melatonin
- L-Theanine
- GABA
I’ve tried a ton of sleep aids, but the one that made me fall asleep fastest is this drink mix called Calm Sleep by Natural Vitality. Give it a try. If it’s currently out of stock, just do a quick search with those 4 supplements and see how close you can get.
If you’re like me (a recovering insomniac who’s seen more sunrises than I care to see), then you know I could keep writing all day (and I probably will come back periodically and update this post as I learn more). But, I only want to give you the things that helped me most.
Simon Sinek once said, “There is no decision that we can make that doesn’t come with some sort of balance or sacrifice.”
You have to decide whether your sleep is worth more than your afternoon coffee or the comfort of not working out. If better sleep is your priority, you’ll need to sacrifice the habits that are hurting it. It’s up to you.
Happy sleeping.
