Last summer, my anxiety was at an all-time high. A lot of amazing, yet stressful things were happening all at once: I had my most profitable month of all time (July) and was working with multiple brands, I moved into a new home, and I was on the road quite a bit. As a result, I couldn’t sleep through the night for about two months straight, which took a toll physically and mentally.
I knew I had a lot of projects on my plate for fall, and things weren’t going to slow down in the near future. So I did some homework and polled my followers on IG Stories to try to figure out ways to get a good night sleep. I tried a lot of different methods, but here are the ones that happen to work best for me!
Ways to Get a Good Night Sleep
Melatonin
The most popular answer I got over on IG Stories was melatonin. To be honest, I don’t think that melatonin is super effective by itself, but combined with one or two of these other methods I’ve listed here, it works wonders.
Melatonin is a hormone that can help regulate the sleep-wake cycle. You can take it in pill or liquid form, but I prefer melatonin gummies. The Olly Sleep gummies taste delicious and worked fairly well when I combined it with CBD or exercise.
CBD Oil & Soft Gels
I was very wary about trying CBD products and held off on them for a while. I finally gave them a chance last summer, and I haven’t looked back since!
After doing some research, I found that Equilibria CBD was the best option for me. I love that they’re female-owned and that you can talk to a dosage specialist for free to figure out the right amount of oil/pills to take each day. I published a full review of the products here, and if you want to try them out yourself, use the code “aliciatenise” for 15% off your first order!
Night Teas
I used to be the girl who only drank tea when she got sick, but my love for tea has grown tenfold over the last couple of years. If I’m at home, I’ll have at least 1-2 cups of tea each day!
One of my friends introduced me to the brand Traditional Medicinals last year, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I like to drink their Nighty Night Tea about 20-30 minutes before heading to bed and man â it works like a charm! Plus, it’s organic and non-GMO.
Working Out/Being Active
I love working from home for the most part, but over the last three years, I noticed my level of activity plummeted during the workday since I had no real reason to leave the house!
One of my New Years Intentions is to move more this year. Whether it’s breaking up my day by going to a workout class or taking a quick lap around my neighborhood during the workday, I’m keeping tabs on my Activity tab on my Apple Watch and challenging myself to get up and get out more. I also noticed that the more steps I take per day, the better quality of sleep I get (thanks to the Sleep Cycle App for helping me determine this!)
Limiting Screen Time 30-60 Minutes Before You Go to Bed
Anyone else guilty of being on their phones right before bed? Even falling asleep with your phone still in your hand? Yep, I’m in the same boat as you!
Being on your phone before bed is a bad habit and something that will disrupt your sleep. For starters, the blue light from your screen suppresses melatonin, and that can throw off your internal clock. Being active on any type of screen right before bed will also keep your mind psychologically engaged, which makes it harder to get your brain to entirely “shut off.”
This year, I’m trying to shut off my phone at least 30 minutes before heading to bed (or make it to 60 minutes if I can!) Instead of scrolling through social media right before bedtime, I’m hoping to catch up on reading instead.
What are some of your favorite ways to get a good night sleep? Let me know in a comment below!
Photos by Tom McGovern
