Following on the heels of last week’s email covering the three reasons why lack of sleep is sabotaging your nutrition and body goals, here are 10 ways to help you have the best sleep of your life.

Before you dive in, it’s important to understand that every single person’s sleep needs are as unique as their food likes and dislikes. What might help one person sleep better may result in another person having a poor-quality sleep.

So, pick and choose from the list below for the tips that might help you. Just like with nutrition, there’s never a one-size fits all approach that will work perfectly for every person.

Tip Number 1: Free your mind

Have you ever woken up at 2am because you remembered an item to add to your grocery list? Or perhaps it was about a difficult conversation you were planning to have the next day?

Going to bed with a busy brain can be one of the biggest sleep disruptors.

If you’re prone to unwanted awakenings out of fear that you’ll forget something or because you’re strategizing about your next work project, a pre-sleep “brain dump” can help.

Before you turn out the lights, brainstorm everything that’s on your mind into a notebook beside your bed. Your brain will find comfort in this because it will no longer have to worry about forgetting tasks, ideas, or strategies. It will be free to settle into sleep.

Tip Number 2: Sleep in the dark

Darkness cues your mind to prepare for sleep and to stay asleep. Natural and artificial light can interfere with these processes. Installing blackout blinds can be helpful if streetlight or sunlight streams unwantedly into your bedroom.

This may seem obvious, but what is less obvious is the pesky light transmitted from electronics and other electrical sources. Turn these off, unplug them, face them away from you, dim them, or cover them with duct or black electrical tape if necessary. This could be the face of your alarm clock, the light on your phone or tv, or even the alarm panel.

Tip Number 3: Make it cool

Most people like a warm and cozy bed to fall into at the end of an exhausting day. But did you know that sleeping in a cool climate may promote better quality sleep?

The “optimal” temperature is about 17 degrees. Just like the absence of light is a cue for your body to slow for the night, cooler temperatures are also indicative that it’s time to sleep.

Although not everyone will sleep well in what may feel like a frosty bedroom, turning down the heat at least a bit at night is a great way to help promote better quality sleep.

Tip Number: Turn it off

In the era of our phones being attached to us like an extra limb, it’s common to be glued to them as night approaches.

Unfortunately, screens typically emit blue light, which can disrupt sleep. Blue light mimics the light from the daytime sky, which is a cue for our bodies to wake-up, not wind down.

If you’re not ready to give up your screen time before bed, simply switch on “night mode”, which shifts the light to a warm, brownish hue, more like the evening sun setting. Laptops, desktop computers, and phones will have this option and you can even program it to change automatically at a certain time.

Tip Number 5: Make it a ritual

Having a bedtime ritual can be another good way to promote better quality sleep. For some people, it’s enough just to wash their face and brush their teeth and then faceplant into their pillow, remembering nothing until their alarm goes off.

If you have difficulty falling and/or staying asleep, it may be beneficial to create a relaxing routine including things like gentle yoga, meditation, a warm shower or bath, special music, scented candles, or even time to read before bed.

Doing specific things in a specific order can help cue the brain and body that it’s time to wind down, relax, and surrender to sleep.

Tip Number 6: Consistency is everything

While it may not be possible depending on schedules, priorities, and other factors, setting a regular bedtime and wake time that you follow seven days a week can promote better quality sleep. This is because it helps your body to establish a strong sleep cycle.

Your body will know what to expect at what time and this may help make your sleep and wake patterns more automatic.

Tip Number 7: Make it peaceful

Speaking from experience, there’s nothing worse than being a light sleeper perpetually kept awake just by the sound of your bed partner’s breathing.

If you’re like me and even the tiniest of sounds will disrupt your sleep, I recommend using a white noise app. There are a multitude of variations out there, but I use one that sounds like a fan. It drowns out small things but isn’t so loud that I won’t hear my son yelling, “Mommmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeee” from down the hall.

If you live in a busy, urban neighbourhood, white noise is a great way to cover the sound of car doors slamming, racoons fighting, or the incessant sound of sirens screaming along major thoroughfares.

Tip Number 8: Meals matter

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention nutrition and its impact to sleep.

Eating a huge meal before bed leaves your body to digest it while you’re trying to sleep. This can increase your body temperature substantially, cuing it into wakefulness. Eating a big meal may also leave you feeling unwell or uncomfortable. Neither scenario is sleep promoting.

On the other hand, going to bed hungry can inhibit a good night’s rest, too. So, what should you do?

As always, everyone is different and it’s important to know what feels best for you!

That being said, including protein at dinner or in a small bedtime snack can be beneficial. Protein helps with sleep quality—in particular the ability to stay asleep. Adding to that, having some carbohydrates with dinner or in that bedtime snack can also help with sleep latency, or the time it takes to fall asleep.

Tip Number 9: Mind the liquids

If you drink too much liquid too close to bedtime, you might spend more time than you want making trips to the toilet. And if you have trouble falling asleep after, peeing in the night can be problematic. To avoid this, consider cutting down on liquids towards dinnertime.

It’s also important to consider the impact of caffeine and alcohol on sleep. Having caffeine later in the day may make it more difficult to fall asleep.

And, while alcohol can help you fall asleep, it certainly won’t keep you that way. Alcohol consumption prior to bedtime can impact your ability to stay asleep and to fall back asleep. It can raise your heartbeat, your internal temperature, and I probably don't have to explain why bed-spins are sleep disrupting.

Tip Number 10: Make peace with sleep

The final tip if you’re struggling with sleep is to do a deep dive into the reality of your rest. Sometimes it can feel like you haven’t slept a wink, when in actuality, you’re just remembering the few moments where you were awake.

If you have strings of days and weeks where it seems like you haven’t slept at all, the anxiety around sleep can build. Those feelings about sleep can then become the disruptor.

If this is happening, wearing a sleep tracker may help you investigate what’s real and what’s perception when it comes to your rest. I have the FitBit Charge and it does a good job of assessing sleep quality and quantity.

Should the data indicate that your sleep quality is poor, it gives you some information to show your doctor—or it may be the catalyst you need to seek out other sleep support. On the flip side, it may be just what you need to accept that you're sleeping just fine!

Getting a good night’s rest is important to all aspects of your life. If you’re struggling with your sleep quality or quantity, know that you can improve it. It’ll take some investigation, some work, and some patience, but it will be worth it!