Fatigue can lower your resolve and make just about any goal a little harder to reach. So whether your New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, get in shape or learn a new skill, make better sleep a priority in 2023. It is fundamental to helping you achieve your other goals.
Restorative sleep sharpens your mind, elevates your mood and gives you energy for exercise. It enables you to be more productive and supports creativity. You might even have more self control.
Taking Suntheanine 30 minutes before bedtime can help by putting you in a calm, relaxed state so that you can fall asleep faster, sleep deeper and wake up without grogginess. It’s not a tranquilizer or a sedative. Instead, it stimulates production of alpha brain waves, a deeply relaxed and mentally alert state often achieved by meditation. Find out more about L-theanine for sleeping.
More strategies for consistently getting better sleep include:
- Teach your body to follow a sleep routine. That may include a lower room temperature and following the same sleep/wake times. Our bodies learn to respond to certain cues, even if we’re not aware of them.
- Give yourself at least 30 minutes to wind down. Use this time to read a book or listen to soft music.
- Give your body and brain time to grow accustomed to your new routine. Almost any new routine takes time to become a habit. Give yourself a set period of time, such as 90 days, to start experiencing the benefits. If you are dramatically changing your sleep times, you may want to do so gradually by adjusting your sleep/wake times by an hour or two at a time. Reinforce your new sleep patterns by following the same routine daily, even on weekends.
Finally, take advantage of cooler temperatures to participate in outdoor activities. Exercise is a proven way to enhance sleep, and exposure to sunlight helps manage the circadian rhythm responsible for quality sleep.