Sleep is an important aspect not only of your life but also of your overall health. In order to be productive and stay healthy, you need a good sleep every night. Losing sleep when you have a busy schedule the next day, will add to your stress and overall frustration. It is important to fix your sleeping problems before they become chronic insomnia. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that requires professional treatment. However, you don’t have to get there if you apply the following tips to get a better sleep every night!

1. Develop A Bedtime Ritual

What you do before you go to bed will determine the quality of your sleep. If you’re scrolling your phone or watching Netflix right before going to bed, you most likely have trouble falling asleep. On top of that, when you do fall asleep, you don’t get enough rest. If this is the case, you might even wake up more tired than you went to bed.

Having a ritual helps training certain behavior. The same applies to the bedtime routine.  Consistency is key here as well. You can enjoy a cup of tea that has no caffeine in it – herbal tea or even fruit tea. Try aromatherapy and use your favorite scented candles to help you relax. Disconnect yourself from distractions and maybe use the last hour of the day to read an interesting book. All these things will help you relax before bedtime and look forward to a peaceful night of good sleep.

Related: 6 Productive Things To Do Before Bed

2. Journal

Writing your thoughts down has a true therapeutic effect. All you need to empty your mind of these worrying thoughts is a notebook and a pen. You can simply write down your impressions about the day that is just about to end.

Use your notebook to write ideas that will help you get where you want in life. And you can also put down things that you need to do the next day. Journaling and planning help to manage your time better. You will have fewer worries and you will be able to disconnect easier before going to bed.

3. Take A Hot Bath

Taking a bath will definitely help you unwind and find a state of deep relaxation. Light your favorite candles and turn on your favorite music. You can use bath bombs, salt or a relaxing shower gel. If you don’t like to take baths, you can take a shower. The warm water will help both your body and mind relax.

Falling asleep after a warm bath or shower is usually a lot easier. Plus, the quality of your sleep will be much better as well. This should become a part of your bedtime ritual too.

Related: 30 Self Care Ideas

4 Avoid Technology

By watching TV or scrolling the feed you’re influenced by the information you consume. Your brain doesn’t relax when you do that. And if you stay away from gadgets at least one hour before going to bed, you’ll see the difference. Trust me. Ideally, it should be 3 hours. But you can always start with 1 and increase this time.

It is a good idea to disconnect your WiFi as well. Thus you won’t be bothered by any notifications and you won’t have the temptation to grab your phone.

5. Use Your Bed For Sleep Only

Your bed might be comfortable but you should save it for the main purpose it was made for: sleeping. If you like to take your laptop in bed to do some more work or check your emails, know that this is a very bad idea. It will interfere with your sleeping schedule and most likely you will stay awake longer than you need.

Your mind should be able to associate your bed with your hours of good sleep. If you get this habit going and you maintain it on a constant basis, you will feel sleepy naturally the moment you get into your comfortable bed.

Related: Easy Ways To Create A Relaxing Home

Apply the tips to find the best bedtime ritual that works for you. But keep in mind that if you are not consistent, none of the ideas above will work for you. It takes several days and even weeks to develop a bad habit and it works the same for a good habit too. But the quality of your sleep is something you should definitely invest in! Share your hacks in the comments below.