Getting Sleep Done: 4 Sleep Tips For Active Minds

Something that’s always seemed a little odd to me is all the lifehacking advice on how to get a good night’s sleep. Rather than actually getting to sleep I’d instead be awake trying to apply all these little tricks and techniques, when what I should be doing is closing my eyes and letting my mind relax. It could just be me (I can take anything up to thirty minutes to fall asleep) but all the sleephacking advice out there just doesn’t do it for me. My attitude is that the less you worry about sleeping the more likely you are to actually get to sleep. With that concept in mind, below are my top four practical tips for doing just that.

• Try sleeping when you’re actually tired
  This one isn’t as obvious as you might think. I’ve known many people go to bed when they actually aren’t tired. There are numerous reasons for this – they’re worried about getting enough sleep, they think they should be in bed at a particular time… but a pre-requisite for sleep is actually feeling sleepy in the first place. And if you’re not tired? Your mind will wonder, you’ll get restless and you’ll end up even more alert than you were before.
• Tiredness? It’s no big deal
  Yes, a good night’s sleep is very important, we all know that. It helps to keep you happy, balanced and healthy. However, we’ve become so focused on making sure we get our regular eight hours sleep every night that it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that having a few hours less every so often won’t actually hurt you. You might have to occasionally struggle through a work or school day keeping your eyes open during meetings and lessons, but so what? Next time you stagger home at 2AM and stress out because you’ve got to be up in five hours time, remind yourself that you can and will cope.
• Are you a night owl or early bird?
  Do you feel better after going to bed early and rising early? Or do you feel better sleeping later? It does make a difference. Today’s business world discriminates against the night owl (though that is slowly changing) but where possible tailor your lifestyle to suit your sleeping patterns.
• Have a (rough) sleeping routine
  I’m not talking about strictly going to bed and waking up at particular times, that was already dismissed in the first tip. However, some routine is very useful. If you regularly sleep and wake up at a particular time (give or take an hour) your body is going to get used to it and will be more receptive to some shut eye when your head finally hits the pillow. But of course if you’re up early for work during the week and then stay up late during the weekends that’s going to throw your whole routine out of whack, making it harder to sleep come Monday.