Our friends from DisturbMeNot wrote this awesome article on how to get the best sleep of your life. Traveling is the most fun when you are well-rested and healthy!

According to a 2018 study of more than 1 million adults, the ideal length of night sleep is 6 to 8 hours. However, approximately 35% of U.S. adults don't get that amount of sleep daily. It is no wonder 10% of U.S. adults have chronic insomnia.

Statistics also show that between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from a chronic sleep disorder, and over 45% of Americans have reported that inadequate sleep affected their daily activities.

Along with proper nutrition and regular exercise, sleep plays a significant role in our health, and that is why we have prepared this article to help you develop habits that will help you sleep better. Let’s have a look at them:

Establish a Bedtime Routine

What you need to do is find an activity that keeps you mentally relaxed just before bedtime, and perform it every night. It could be reading a book, listening to music, or even burning a candle. 

This ensures that anytime you start to perform your bedtime routine, your brain automatically recognizes that it’s time to sleep. This activates sleep neurons, placing you in sleep mode. That way, you can easily fall asleep and hit your sleep goals with ease.

Watch Your Diet Before Bedtime

There are lots of meals out there capable of disrupting your sleep, regardless of how exhausted you may be at the end of the day. Acidic and spicy food just before bedtime can potentially awaken you in the middle of your sleep with a stomach ache. Others like cheese can cause you nightmares. 

Try to always eat very light before bedtime. No matter how hungry you are, to meet up with your sleep goals, you need to cultivate the habit of eating light before bedtime. Focus on consuming carbohydrates plus calcium or protein for dinner.

Exercise Only During the Day

Exercise and sleep go hand in hand, since working out wears you out during the day, thereby getting you in the mood for sleep by night time.

But, when you exercise close to bedtime hours, it can interfere with your sleep. A good rule is to exercise during the day or at least 3-4 hours before bedtime.

Learn to Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Try to develop the habit of sleeping and waking up at the same time every day, even at weekends. Although challenging, experts say this is one of the most critical sleep habits to develop if you wish to crush your sleep goals. 

Like it or not, our body has an internal clock, and it is very much possible to train your internal clock to be consistent with your sleep time every night, and your wake up time every morning. 

Ensure Your Bedroom Is Used Only for Sleep and Sex

To strengthen the association between bed and sleep, you should use your bedroom only for rest and sex.

Ensure your bedroom is always cool, dark, and quiet, with only a small dose of white noise in the background to aid your sleep.

If you begin to perform other activities in your bedroom besides sleep and sex, you are only training your brain to associate other activities with your bedroom, and this can hinder your sleep in many ways.

Bottom Line

Getting a good night's sleep is not as easy as most people think in today's technology-driven world. There are so many distractions, and even the technology that is supposed to make our lives better can sometimes hinder us from hitting our sleep goals.

It is no wonder over 50 million Americans reported having a chronic sleep disorder, and 97% of teenagers surveyed reported sleeping less than what is recommended.