Getting quality sleep is important. Your body and brain need adequate sleep to function. Here are the easiest ways to sleep better!

Caffeine is a stimulant; therefore, it interrupts sleep. Try reducing, or even eliminating, caffeine from your daily routine. If elimination is out of the question, at least cut off caffeine within four to six hours of your bedtime. Results do not appear immediately or within 24 hours. However, you will notice a change within a few days of reducing your caffeine intake.

Nicotine is another stimulant that hinders sleep. In addition to every other reason to quit smoking, add improving your quality of sleep to the list.

Lastly, alcohol, like caffeine and nicotine, makes it harder for you to fall asleep. Oftentimes, alcohol is mistaken for aiding in sleep. Many people report that a drink or two of their choice helps them fall asleep quickly. This may be true. However, alcohol alters your sleep pattern and negatively impacts your quality of sleep.

Your sleep pattern takes time to develop. It may be tough at first, but it is well worth the tough days. For example, force yourself to get up at 6:30 AM for a few days. Do this no matter how your body feels from your previous night’s sleep. Then, go to bed at exactly 10:30 PM on those nights. After a few days of this continued routine, your sleep pattern will reset. Adjust these times to fit your schedule while remembering to let yourself sleep for seven to eight hours each night.

One more thing people have to worry about, especially these days, is the effects that your phone screens have on your sleep. Amerisleep surveyed 1,000 people on their phone habits before bed and found that 86% of Americans admit to using their phone in bed before falling asleep. On average, they scroll for 38 minutes before sleeping.

Whether it be a calming ASMR video or a hilarious prank reel, staring at a screen before attempting to sleep is bad for you, and that is due to the blue light being emitted from your phone. Blue light, also known as high-energy visible light, is a color in the visible light spectrum that can be seen by human eyes. And because blue light is a short wavelength, it produces higher amounts of energy.

Apart from the obvious cons of staring at a phone, TV, or computer screen for too long, like eye strain, irritation, headaches, etc., you also have to consider how it affects your sleep. There are light sensors in your eyes that signal when the day is ending. They can tell the difference between the intensity of the blue light waves of daylight and the warmer tones of the evening. When you get to those sunset shades, the sensors tell your body to release melatonin, which is the sleep-inducing hormone. Now, you can imagine that when you are taking in blue light – that is usually attributed to daylight – before you go to bed, your body does not release as much melatonin because it is not being signaled that it’s time to sleep.

Try out these tips to get your body going in the right direction to sleep better.