As we all know, sleep is vital for all our normal functions, in both mind and body. However, so many of us today don’t get anywhere near the amount we should. The NIH (National Institute of Health) states that adults should get between 7 and 9 hours a night. Do you get this amount?  The result is a situation where your health and wellbeing steadily decline to which you are left feeling bereft and listless, even lifeless (or a zombie).  Not to mention more naps. If you have come to realize that you probably need more sleep, this is the first vital step towards getting it.

Next, you need to know what you have to do to prioritize getting the sleep you need. There are so many ways that you should be able to do that, whether it’s something you have worked on before or not. Let’s look right now at some of the main ways you can hope to get more sleep each night.

It’s All About the Bed

You can’t really sleep well if you don’t have a comfortable place to do it, so the first thing to look at is your mattress. How comfortable is your bed, really? Is it somewhere you find it easy to rest, or is there something wrong with it which makes it difficult to do so? If you think your bed might need an upgrade to which you could make it more comfortable, then there are lots of ways you can achieve that. You might, for instance, simply need to look for some good quality mattresses and treat yourself to a brand new one.  Sometimes just having new linen can be enough.

I personally love the mattress. I got from Wayfair 2 years ago.  It is a 12” Medium Cooling Gel Memory Foam Queen which is currently on sale for $319.99 as of 2/20/2024. The firmness is in the middle and in the middle for thickness. Being 40, I need a little more stiffness vs sleeping on a marshmallow. This mattress also helps regulate the temperature of your body.

However you do it, when your bed is more comfortable, that is going to help ensure that you are in a much better relationship with your sleep.  So don’t overlook this essential part of the process.

Diagnose Your Sleep Troubles

It might be that you have a diagnosable sleep disorder.  There are many kinds of sleep disorders and not just the famous insomnia – though this is a particularly common one. If you are worried about your sleep, then you should certainly have yourself checked out, just to be sure.  It might be that you could get treatment which makes a radical difference to your sleep.  Sleep studies are great for finding out what’s going on that is affecting your sleep.

Get The Temperature Right

Temperature is a major factor in your sleep. Your room needs to be at just the right temperature to fall asleep and to stay asleep throughout the night. Sleepfoundation.org says the best room temperature for good sleep is around 65 degrees. Most doctors recommend keeping the thermostat between 60 to 68 degrees for the most comfortable sleep.  The reason for this is that the body needs the room to be slightly cooler to cool down and be ready for sleep, so you will probably find it harder to sleep in a warm or hot room. Who wants to wake up in the middle of the night sweating. It’s a lot easier to get warm than to get cool.

The Bedtime Routine

If you want basically anything to happen, then the way to ensure it does is to create a bedtime routine.  If you have a routine for going to bed, that is going to make it a lot easier to fall asleep, and it’s amazing how much this can work. The routine can be anything you like of course, but it’s best if it is something that relaxes and calms you down.  Everyone will have their own routine that works for them.  This may include meditating or just taking a few deep breaths.  If you enjoy reading, incorporate this into your night routine.

For some, you like to spend some time scrolling TikTok, Facebook or YouTube. While that is perfectly fine, just don’t do it 30 minutes before you want to go to bed per the National Sleep Foundation. Whatever your routine is, the point is to do it the same every night.

Over time, and probably quicker than you think, this is going to lead you to getting to sleep a lot more quickly and easily than you may be right now. So, it’s something you should be thinking about.  These are just some of the major ways to prioritize your sleep and get better sleep. You’ll find that all of these are simple enough to do, and that doing them is going to mean that you are much more likely to sleep well every single night.