How to Sleep Better in 3 Simple Steps According to the Experts
We all know that getting sleep is crucial for our overall wellbeing. But what can we do about it?
Gathering reliable information on our bodies and sleep is one of the best first steps we can make when trying to improve our sleep – but this can be tricky. There are so many books, websites, and podcasts that the vast amount of information can be overwhelming – and, if you buy multiple books, expensive.
That’s where the Blinkist app comes into play. Our experts convert the powerful ideas from nonfiction books into short, memorable, and easy to understand insights.
Whatever it is you want to work on – managing a business, getting a raise, improving communication skills or relationships – or simply sleeping through the night, Blinkist has over 5,000 books in our library to help you out. If the book you want isn’t currently on the app, you can even request it from the Blinkist team.
– 5-Star Review
In 15 minutes, you can get the powerful ideas from sleep experts’ top books – without having to buy each individual book. The Blinkist library is created with neuroscientific principles: what you’ll read here is easy to understand, but designed to be hard to forget.
And here’s the magic of the Blinkist app: you can listen or read to these explainers whenever or wherever you want: on the bus, at the gym, in between meetings. Access Blinkist on your phone, tablet, or on the web: it’s conveniently located on whichever device you’re currently using, so you can fit learning into your life.
But back to sleep: let’s take a look at three top tips to sleep better from the experts.
Step #1: Time for Lights Out
Did you know that the hormone melatonin is super reactive to light exposure? “When the sun goes down in the evening, our bodies naturally release the hormone, making us sleepy,” wrote Shawn Stevenson in Sleep Smarter. This means that the lights from our phones and our environments can trick our brains into thinking it’s not time for bed yet, which makes it harder for us to fall or stay asleep.
Maximize your light exposure during the day and minimize it at night. Limit your exposure to screens, starting 60 minutes before bed. To supplement this, a strong blue light filter can help mitigate the effects of blue light. The author also recommends using dark curtains to remove external light.
This way, your brain and body know it’s time for bed and will prepare you for a long night’s rest.
Step #2. Respect the Clock
What’s respect got to do with it? Well, everything, according to Colleen Ehrnstrom and Alisha L. Brosse in End the Insomnia Struggle. Our bodies don’t know that Monday – Friday we have to go to work and that Saturday is the time for fitting in some extra sleep. Rather, our bodies and brains like consistency, and have an internal clock that they stick to.
So, it’s better to “set a specific time to be in bed and one at which you’ll wake up.” Not doing this can “mess up your internal body clock and sleep drive,” the authors caution.
Set a bedtime alarm as well as a morning alarm. Go to bed at a consistent time every night – ideally within 30 minutes of the planned time. Respect the clock on the wall and the clock in your body to optimize your sleep.
Step #3: Feel the Rhythm
Just like the body responds to time-triggers for sleep, it also responds to other rhythmic factors, called zeitgebers, or time givers. “These are cues that help you set up your internal body clock” and can be anything from exercise to “meals at specific times,” Dr. Winter explains in The Sleep Solution, “The more Zeitgebers you’re exposed to, the more synchronized your circadian rhythms will be.”
Find something that you usually do in the evening before bed – such as taking a shower, laying out your clothes for the next day, or reading a book – and try to do them at similar times each day. This will help your brain realize that bedtime is shortly after this, and will start preparing you for a good night’s rest.
Dive Deeper
You’ve just read three expert tips for preparing yourself for better sleep. You can get all of the powerful insights from these books – and other books on sleep – in Blinkist’s library on your phone’s app store or on Blinkist.com. Blinkist’s library has 27 categories and over 5000 books – so whether it’s sleep you want to learn more about or you’re interested in psychology, leadership, business, history, or science – we’ve got something for you.
– 5-Star Review
But don’t just take our word for it – Blinkist is a beloved app by over 20 million people and it’s been featured as Apple’s App of the Day over 500 times. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, even stopped by the Blinkist office to get to know the team and see where the magic happens. The United Nations, recognizing our commitment to ensuring global knowledge exchange, even awarded Blinkist a World Summit Award in the area of Learning and Education.
Get the Blinkist app or sign up online now and see what other insights on sleep you can find. Then, look around and explore something new!
We all know that getting sleep is crucial for our overall wellbeing. But what can we do about it?
Gathering reliable information on our bodies and sleep is one of the best first steps we can make when trying to improve our sleep – but this can be tricky. There are so many books, websites, and podcasts that the vast amount of information can be overwhelming – and, if you buy multiple books, expensive.
That’s where the Blinkist app comes into play. Our experts convert the powerful ideas from nonfiction books into short, memorable, and easy to understand insights.
Whatever it is you want to work on – managing a business, getting a raise, improving communication skills or relationships – or simply sleeping through the night, Blinkist has over 5,000 books in our library to help you out. If the book you want isn’t currently on the app, you can even request it from the Blinkist team.
– 5-Star Review
In 15 minutes, you can get the powerful ideas from sleep experts’ top books – without having to buy each individual book. The Blinkist library is created with neuroscientific principles: what you’ll read here is easy to understand, but designed to be hard to forget.
And here’s the magic of the Blinkist app: you can listen or read to these explainers whenever or wherever you want: on the bus, at the gym, in between meetings. Access Blinkist on your phone, tablet, or on the web: it’s conveniently located on whichever device you’re currently using, so you can fit learning into your life.
But back to sleep: let’s take a look at three top tips to sleep better from the experts.
Step #1: Time for Lights Out
Did you know that the hormone melatonin is super reactive to light exposure? “When the sun goes down in the evening, our bodies naturally release the hormone, making us sleepy,” wrote Shawn Stevenson in Sleep Smarter. This means that the lights from our phones and our environments can trick our brains into thinking it’s not time for bed yet, which makes it harder for us to fall or stay asleep.
Maximize your light exposure during the day and minimize it at night. Limit your exposure to screens, starting 60 minutes before bed. To supplement this, a strong blue light filter can help mitigate the effects of blue light. The author also recommends using dark curtains to remove external light.
This way, your brain and body know it’s time for bed and will prepare you for a long night’s rest.
Step #2. Respect the Clock
What’s respect got to do with it? Well, everything, according to Colleen Ehrnstrom and Alisha L. Brosse in End the Insomnia Struggle. Our bodies don’t know that Monday – Friday we have to go to work and that Saturday is the time for fitting in some extra sleep. Rather, our bodies and brains like consistency, and have an internal clock that they stick to.
So, it’s better to “set a specific time to be in bed and one at which you’ll wake up.” Not doing this can “mess up your internal body clock and sleep drive,” the authors caution.
Set a bedtime alarm as well as a morning alarm. Go to bed at a consistent time every night – ideally within 30 minutes of the planned time. Respect the clock on the wall and the clock in your body to optimize your sleep.
Step #3: Feel the Rhythm
Just like the body responds to time-triggers for sleep, it also responds to other rhythmic factors, called zeitgebers, or time givers. “These are cues that help you set up your internal body clock” and can be anything from exercise to “meals at specific times,” Dr. Winter explains in The Sleep Solution, “The more Zeitgebers you’re exposed to, the more synchronized your circadian rhythms will be.”
Find something that you usually do in the evening before bed – such as taking a shower, laying out your clothes for the next day, or reading a book – and try to do them at similar times each day. This will help your brain realize that bedtime is shortly after this, and will start preparing you for a good night’s rest.
Dive Deeper
You’ve just read three expert tips for preparing yourself for better sleep. You can get all of the powerful insights from these books – and other books on sleep – in Blinkist’s library on your phone’s app store or on Blinkist.com. Blinkist’s library has 27 categories and over 5000 books – so whether it’s sleep you want to learn more about or you’re interested in psychology, leadership, business, history, or science – we’ve got something for you.
– 5-Star Review
But don’t just take our word for it – Blinkist is a beloved app by over 20 million people and it’s been featured as Apple’s App of the Day over 500 times. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, even stopped by the Blinkist office to get to know the team and see where the magic happens. The United Nations, recognizing our commitment to ensuring global knowledge exchange, even awarded Blinkist a World Summit Award in the area of Learning and Education.
Get the Blinkist app or sign up online now and see what other insights on sleep you can find. Then, look around and explore something new!
