How to Get a Great Night’s Sleep, Every Night

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Are you one of the lucky ones who can fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow?

No?

Well then, perhaps instead you’re one of those who just can’t switch off when you want to.

You tell yourself, tonight you won’t give in to looking at a screen until your eyelids droop. But at some point in the night, you wake up to the blue light, the end credits of a movie, or the game you were playing, or to find that autoplay has landed on something and you wonder where you are until you realize that, no, you’re not in the middle of an alien invasion or a romcom wedding.

You push your device out of the way while you dust off the crumbs of whatever you might have been snacking on, or you begrudgingly get up to switch the lights off because you fell asleep with them on… again.

Or perhaps you shuffle your feet to the bedroom in a stupor as you’ve fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the TV… again, only to have to wake up in a few hours and be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the day ahead.

Or, maybe for you, rather than the screen, it’s the drink, a drug, or a sleeping tablet.

And that morning cuppa that used to do the trick, doesn’t quite cut it anymore, so you throw more caffeine down the hatch all day, leading to an even poorer sleep at night.

Why this madness night after night?

Because anything, absolutely anything, is better than lying in bed with thought after thought, plan after plan, worry after worry, invading what is supposed to be your personal, peaceful time to wind down and switch off, right?

How many of us have lain awake at night, restless and stressed because the mind just does not shut up. Replaying conversations and churning over shoulda woulda coulda.

I’m sure we are all aware of the benefits of a regular, good night’s sleep. From making you more efficient, improving your physical and mental health, curing depressive states, helping you reach new heights, to unleashing your full potential; the benefits are truly endless.

So, how can you switch off that manic machine of a mind and get a great night’s sleep, every single night and reap all those wonderful benefits?

 

Here’s what worked for me:

 

1. NO CAFFEINE AFTER MIDDAY

Have a small cuppa in the mornings if you really need to, it will set you up for the whole day. But switch it off and switch it up in the afternoons and evenings with something like chamomile tea or a good, natural sleep-blend tea (there are tons of different flavours out there).

Even if you feel like chamomile or natural sleep teas don’t work for you, start having one or two cups every afternoon and evening anway. Don’t wait until bedtime. It will help your body and mind learn to start winding down. A cup of chamomile can help whoever you’re you’re feeling unusually anxious or stressed too.

 

2. NO DAYTIME NAPS

Unless you have a medical condition that means you need to get some rest in the day, try not to nap. I would wake up groggy whenever I napped during the day. In some cultures, napping during the day and drinking tea or coffee upon waking in the afternoon is the norm. If you are used to this and you’re not sleeping soundly at night. It might be wise to depart from this habit.

 

3. DON’T GO TO BED TOO FULL OR TOO HUNGRY

If you’re anything like me, you’re hungry all the time. I find that if I don’t eat enough protein, especially at dinner time, I’m famished again by bedtime, then I’m unable to fall asleep. I try and eat a satisfying, very protein-rich dinner early in the evening so it’s had time to digest by bedtime, but I’m not too hungry to fall asleep.

 

3. EXERCISE

Some physical exertion is needed every day to make the body tired enough to slip into a natural sleep. Even if it’s a quick, brisk walk, get up and get moving, do something; anything! Especially if the type of work you do means you are stagnant for most of the day.

 

4. CLEAR THE CLUTTER

A great way to ease you into that calming space of the mind is to clear the clutter outside and inside.

• Outside — Tidy any clutter in and around your bedroom/sleeping space. Keep it clean and smelling fresh, like a sanctuary. I love a spritz of lavender essential oil on my bedding. In an uncluttered, clean space, you’ll feel the calm envelop you in no time.

• Inside — Make a list of all the things you need to get done the next day or during the week. Writing it all down means you won’t be panicking yourself remembering random things at night. It’s all written down, so take it easy, it will be taken care of. Less for you to be thinking about at night.

 

5. WIND-DOWN RITUAL

Just like little babies, we respond well to routines as big babies too. Once you’ve finished everything you need to do for the day, try and stick to the same wind-down ritual every evening.

The lighting is important during this. Try to avoid bright lights. Close the curtains and use a dim lamp. Little rechargeable electric candles are wonderful. I don’t even travel without mine. They come with a remote so you can enjoy the ambience then switch them off after you’re already in bed.

Your wind down ritual might be as simple as taking a shower and cleaning your teeth, dimming the lights, slipping into your pajamas and drinking your chamomile tea. After you’ve done that, don’t do anything else. No distractions. No screen time for at least 40 minutes before sleep.

Aim to get into bed ready for sleep at the same time every night. 

*Important* If you’ve been falling asleep in the wee hours of the mornings, don’t try to go to sleep at 9pm, for example, straight away. Bring your sleep time forward by 20 to 30 mins every few days. Bring it forward gradually. 

 

6. MEDITATION

Meditation, absolutely, without fail, is going to be your number one failsafe when you find yourself in bed and your body is tired but you’re not quite able to fall asleep yet. Before you reach for your device or even a book to ‘lull’ you to sleep, here’s what you can do:

 

• Sleep on your right

An ancient secret that Buddhist monks practice is to fall asleep lying on their right side.

Why?

Here’s the awesome, mystical science – We have two particular energy channels in our body: a lunar channel and a solar channel. Lying on your right activates the lunar channel which is cooling, and this helps to calm the mind. The solar channel, activated while lying on your left, on the other hand, generates heat and makes you feel more restless. So, if you usually fall asleep on your left side, try turning to your right and see if it makes a difference.

 

• Do a recap of your day 

Another way of clearing the clutter once you’re in bed and lying on your right side is to do a quick mental recap of your day, starting from the moment you woke up that morning to the things you did throughout the day. Don’t give any particular importance to anything that happened, just scan through the day’s activities right up to getting ready for bed and getting into bed, then take a few deep breaths and find yourself right in the present moment. You’ve just been through your day already, so no need for those thoughts to come in again while you fall asleep now.

 

• Focus on your breath

This is the most important part of your sleep meditation.

Once you’ve cleared all the clutter and you’ve wound down, lying cosily on your right side, don’t allow stray thoughts to come and sully the peace and quiet you deserve right now. Your only focus is the breath.

Don’t ‘try’ to fall asleep, that will only make you feel more restless.

Just be aware of every breath coming in and going out. If the mind wanders off into thought, gently bring your attention back to the breath. Eventually you’ll fall asleep.

This worked brilliantly for me: Once you’re aware of your breaths. Try counting them down from 1000. Simply count down with each natural exhalation: 1000, 999, 998, 997 and so on.  If you forget which number you’re on, just pick up again at the last number you remember or you can start again at 1000. No need to change your breathing pattern. Simply count down each natural exhalation and you’ll be asleep in no time.

If you wake up in the night, simply lay on your right side and return your focus to your breath.

 

Or

 

If you prefer someone else to do all the hard work for you, you can fall asleep listening to Om Swami’s instructions in Yog Nidra on the Black Lotus app.

Yog Nidra is one of the best ways to completely relax your entire body and switch off your mind, to take a power nap if you need to, or to fall into a deep sleep at bedtime, and even to fall back asleep if you wake up in the night.

To begin Yog Nidra, open the Black Lotus app, tap on the lightning bolt in the bottom right of the Today screen and select Sleep. You will see Yog Nidra there.

 

You can also read some of Om Swami ji’s wisdom on sleep here and here.

 

In the beginning it might take you 30 to 40 minutes or even longer to fall asleep, or you might surprise yourself and doze off within a few breaths. Either way, the more you practice mastering your mind, the more accustomed your it will become to slipping into a sweet, natural slumber.

 

A WORD ON SURRENDER

I cannot overstate the importance of surrender in every aspect of our lives – even sleep.

If you have faith in God, a Guru, a Higher Power, the Universe, anything, try and leave everything to them.

Surrender lightens our load. It means we have less to think about, less to plan.

It means we understand that whatever is happening, no matter how challenging it seems right now, is in our best interest in the end. We can only do our best in life and leave the rest to the Divine.

There is nothing like falling asleep with a light heart, carrying no grudges, and waking up with a grateful smile, even before you’ve even opened your eyes. It’s absolutely possible. I experience it all the time. With faith in God in my heart, I feel just like a little contented cat in a blanket.

…

Such a simple thing as sleep, which we take for granted, can be life-changing if we get it right.

So, I wish you a good night, some sweet dreams, and an even sweeter sleep tonight!

With His Grace,

Sushree Diya

🧡