First thing’s first, I’m not a doctor, so if you’re having trouble sleeping, definitely consult a licensed professional. This is just a list of things I’ve tried and have had varying degrees of success with.
I have never been a good sleeper. At sleepovers growing up, I was always the last one to fall asleep and the first one to wake up. For years, I saw sleep as a waste of time and was living off of 5-6 hours of sleep every night. I love staying up late watching TV, writing blog posts, editing photos, and scrolling through social media. I’m weird in that I am both a big night owl and an early bird. I love to get things done and be productive, which I can do past midnight and before 8am. This year, I took The Sleep Doctor’s chronotype quiz and I’m a dolphin, which basically means I’m an erratic sleeper.
After college, my sleep schedule got a little better, but I was still having trouble falling asleep and then during the pandemic, I’d have anxious thoughts and really had to make an effort to try to sleep better. I also listened to this TED Talk that scared me into sleeping more. Spoiler alert, science proves that the less sleep you get, the earlier you die!
So in an effort to prolong my life, here are some things that I’ve tried on my journey to better sleep. There are some obvious ones that you’ve definitely heard of and some specific things I’ve purchased that I think have worked.
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How to Sleep Better
1. Do a sleep meditation
This is my biggest sleep hack that works extremely well for me!! I am not big into meditating at all and I don’t meditate during the day, although I did download Headspace since it’s still free for Los Angeles residents (at the time of posting in November 2022). The popular Sleep With Me podcast on Spotify didn’t work for me that well. It always took like 40 minutes for me to fall asleep. I’ve also tried white noise or pink noise, but I am not a fan of the sound. I found this 10-Minute Deep Sleep Meditation and that usually gets me pretty tired. I also found an artist called Miracle Tones that have different frequencies that sound very calming. I made a Sleepy Time playlist with the meditation and Miracle Tones, and I use it almost every night so I’m very concerned for my Spotify Wrapped this year.
2. Get exercise during the day
You’ve definitely heard this, but alas, it’s true. This is easier said than done, but exercising during the day really does help tire me out and I fall asleep a lot faster, especially if I work out early in the morning. Going for a long leisurely walk counts!
3. Use a memory foam pillow
Normal pillows do not hit the same, so I think this has been a huge help. I feel like all my tension is in my neck and regular pillows just aren’t as supportive. I got this pillow from Amazon on Prime Day this year and it has two sloped ends with one thicker than the other. I can’t tell which side works best for me. It did smell like fake freshener when I first got it, but I washed the removable cover and that helped.
4. Stop looking at blue light
This is super hard and it rarely happens, but sometimes I don’t look at my phone in the last hour before bed and I think that really helps. When I’m constantly digesting content, it makes it harder to fall asleep. I also think it would be helpful to put my phone out of arm’s reach. I use an actual clock to see the time and prevent me from grabbing my phone.
5. Wear a sleep mask
I didn’t realize how much light was affecting my sleep. I do have blackout curtains also, but light still streams through the sides. My mom got me a weighted sleep mask for Christmas but the weight would put pressure on my eyeballs and when I opened my eyes, everything would be blurry for like 20 minutes which was really scary, so I just took the weight out. I thought it would feel weird sleeping with something on my eyes, but it took maybe two nights to adjust. It might be harder to get used to a mask that looks like a bra with two bigger eye cups, but they have good reviews. I accidentally put my old mask in the dryer and the fabric got all weird, so I recently got a silk mask from Amazon and it’s super soft. I wash it by hand and let it air dry.
6. Lower your body temperature
I love being warm and cozy and usually that does make me tired, but scientifically, it does help if your room is colder when you sleep. I bought this little thermometer for my room, and in the summer in LA I would cool my room down to about 74 degrees to sleep. Now that it’s finally fall, my room is pretty chilly so I’m always sleeping in the cold.
7. Wear earplugs
This is extremely effective for me, yet I can’t recommend it for medical reasons. In West Hollywood earlier this year, my roommate was super noisy when she woke up at 5am for her finance job every day and it was hard when I’d go to bed at 1am and be woken up four hours later. I found wearing earplugs also made it easier to fall asleep. They quiet the world and my mind! Unfortunately wearing them every day for five months straight resulted in ear wax clogging up my ears pretty badly. I recently went to urgent care because I was worried I had strep (I didn’t), and the doctor ordered an ear lavage and SO MUCH wax came out in a cool but gross way. So moral of the story, now I only wear earplugs when I travel or on days when I really want to go to sleep and stay asleep. I tried various ear plugs and Mack’s are the cheapest and work well, but they were a bit large for my ears. My favorite is this pack from Amazon that are a bit smaller.
8. Take a warm shower
I almost always take a shower before going to bed, even if I took a shower in the morning. It’s calming and then your body temperature drops after, which connects back to the temperature point and helps going to bed.
9. Try aromatherapy
For a while, this really worked for me, but then it stopped working. I got some essential oils specifically for sleep from Amazon that were aggressively fragrant and not my favorite scent. I would put a couple of drops in my diffuser and I would fall asleep pretty fast. I’ll link them here because they worked but be warned you only need like 1-2 drops. I’ve also used a roll-on essential oil from Saje that has a more subtle scent that I put on my neck and I think that works pretty well when combined with the sleep meditation.
10. Avoid caffeine (dark chocolate!!)
I don’t drink coffee or energy drinks so I rarely have caffeine. If I eat dark chocolate for dessert, I am up for hours. I recently got some dark chocolate almonds from Trader Joe’s, and I think those are making me have vivid dreams and I’ve been waking up exhausted.
11. Read a book
I love sitting in bed with a book! It only takes me about 30 minutes of reading to feel sleepy, unless the book is super interesting. For that reason, I recommend reading something that requires a lot of brain power and concentration to quickly tire you out.
12. Wake up earlier
When I start my day at 6 or 7am, I am usually tired by the end of the day, especially if I’ve exercised. I can’t really sleep in that late, but if I stay in bed late into the morning, then I’m just never tired by bedtime at night.
13. Have a night routine
I think having a wind-down routine just helps to let your body know it’s time to go to bed. My night routine is kind of long and takes about an hour to an hour and a half. I usually take a shower and do my skincare routine and then turn my lamp on that has a warm yellow light bulb instead of my bright white overhead lights. Then I get into bed, read until I’m tired, turn off my lights, start the sleep meditation audio, and put my sleep mask on.
14. Take melatonin
The last resort. I never want to rely on a supplement to make me tired, but when I know I need to sleep and it’s already late at night and I’m not feeling tired, I’ll take melatonin. I got this pack of 30 little tablets from Amazon this spring and have used about 20.
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