A Guide to A Good Nights Rest

As one of the main pillars of wellness, getting a good night's rest is an essential habit that deserves some re-assessment from time to time. Let's discuss some ways to improve both the quantity and quality of your nighttime rest. We can all catch a little more beauty sleep xo

The Variables

First, let's define the variables. in terms of sleep, quality represents how well-rested you feel waking up in the morning; whether you reached a deeper sleep during the night, whether it was interrupted by dreams or frequent wake-ups, etc. On the other hand, sleep quantity simply refers to the length/ duration. Ask yourself which variable you feel needs the most improvement, and there's your place to start (maybe it's both, and that's okay too).

Improving Quality

In our fast-paced & media-focused society, sleep and rest have become harder and harder to attain. It's tough to shut the brain off at night when our evening wind down is the only time we have to spend with ourselves. I won't tell you the generic ~no phone 1 hour before sleep~ however, starting to develop an awareness of how your phone makes you feel is a great place to start. Tap into how that late-night TikTok scroll left you feeling - are you resting or has it left you drained? Take note of the type of thoughts you experience after a few minutes too long on Instagram. You may notice you're more stimulated than at rest (not what we want before bedtime). Asking yourself these questions as opposed to mindless scrolling starts to build active awareness, and allows us to better prioritize how you spend your downtime. What to do instead of scrolling? Minimize stimulation by setting aside 10 minutes to read. Keep a book at your bedside table - rather than scrolling, reading occupies more of our attention span so that thoughts don't have a chance to stray.

Seem too quiet when you finally lay down to rest? Does your brain start to think about anything but sleep? Listening to white noise could be a helpful fix; white noise provides a light static background sound to tune out other sounds, while also giving the brain something to focus on other than the thoughts that might arise when you lay down at night. Here is a podcast that has a range of background sounds to put on while you drift off.

Improving Quantity

Since "you should sleep more" hasn't helped anyone, my biggest tip here is to establish a consistent sleep and wake-up time. Dedicate some time to planning out a wind-down routine that you can get excited about/ look forward to each night. It's all in the little changes; this wind-down doesn't have to be lengthy, it can really be just 10 minutes that you set aside. Chose the main activities you want to get done in the given time frame leading up to sleep. This could be boiling water for your nighttime tea while you do your skincare, packing your lunch for the next day, setting a water glass beside your bed, etc.

Now, the key to this is actually putting this plan in motion, repeatedly, for at least a few weeks to get yourself in the habit of doing it. Consistency in this routine allows the brain to get used to winding down when you want it to. Not only will this help the quantity of your sleep by drawing the line at bedtime, but it also improves the quality of sleep by satisfying your circadian rhythm.

Aligning With Your Circadian Rhythm

Circadian rhythms are 24 hour cycles that play a significant role in establishing the body's internal clock. The term comes from the latin phrase "circa diem", meaning "around the day". Our circadian rhythms run continuously in the background, ensuring that we process and function optimally throughout a 24-hour period. One of the key circadian rhythms is our sleep & wake cycle; coordinating optimal processes at various points in the day, determining what is day vs. night, and coordinating mental and physical systems. When sleep is aligned with our circadian rhythm, we can achieve consistent and restorative quality of sleep. What does this look like? A key component to this is getting to bed at relatively the same time at night, and waking up at relatively the same time in the morning. Large fluctuations in this schedule leads to deviation from your rhythm, setting off multiple other systems in consequence.