I still don’t know how the series episode “Enchanted Moonlight Library” ends. That, I suppose, is the point. A series is exactly what the name implies: a podcast intended to help you fall asleep. Or maybe I heard “the end” without ever knowing it; Headspacethe mental health app hosting the audio content, slightly remixes his bedtime stories every night, so anxious sleepers like me can’t keep track of time by memorizing the narrative. (Sneaky, but effective, I can confirm.)
I started Headspace’s 18-session course, Finding Your Best Sleep, in April, looking for strategies to calm my worry-prone mind and fall asleep faster. The lessons, which include short videos and guided meditations, are divided into three modules: Understanding Your Sleep; Trying Something New; and Practice, Practice, Practice.
For about 10 minutes a night for almost three weeks, I took in all the material the program had to offer, even optional bonus videos that weren’t relevant to me, including those on sleep comfortably during pregnancy and navigation shift work. This added perspective helped me sort through my sleep habits and what I hoped to improve.
Although not part of the course, the 45-minute sleep broadcasts are included with membershipas well as other bedtime tools such as:
- Nighttime SOS: I have used this feature several times when I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. The guided exercise track “Racing Mind SOS” has proven to be very handy.
- Sleep music and radio: The song “Cave Winds” and the Rain Radio station are particularly relaxing.
- Soundscapes: “Indoor Fireplace” and “Cabin Downpour” are some of my favorite warm background noise tracks.
- White noise and sleep sounds: The delicate frequency of green noise works every time.
- Liquidation orders: “Deep Rest” is the song I need after a stressful day.
Headspace costs $12.99/month with a one-week free trial, or $5.83/month billed at $69.99/year with a two-week free trial. Post-secondary students can join for 83 cents/month, billed $9.99/year.
By design, not all of the tools presented in Finding Your Best Sleep worked for me. Worry time, for example—the practice of confining your worries to a designated block of time each day—only made me more restless. The goal of the course was to discover the best sleep hygiene for me, and it did. Here are five of my favorite sleep strategies I learned from Headspace.
Protect your sleep
The program encouraged me to put into practice something I’ve known for a long time: when I sleep better, life is better.
Adults ages 18 to 60 need at least seven hours of sleep each night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)If I get less than eight hours of sleep, the next day is like wading through mud. With adequate rest, I am a better daughter, a better sister, a better friend, and a better employee. Not only am I more productive at home and at work, I am also kinder and happier.
Why then is it so difficult to achieve this crucial element of well-being? The course encouraged me not to prioritise sleep, but to preserve it, respect it, protect it and organise the rest of my life around it, rather than the other way around.
Sleep is a simple sacrifice when it seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish what needs to be done. Sometimes I still have to force myself to put aside whatever task I feel like I can’t wait to prioritize sleep. And like magic, a good night’s sleep gives me time the next day in the form of increased energy and efficiency.
Sleep space is sacred, including the bed
I knew that a calming environment in the bedroom is essential for restful sleep. Catching z’s in a cool, dark, quiet and comfortable the location is ideal, according to the CDC. Televisions in the bedroom are frowned upon, and screen time should be discontinued at least 30 minutes before bedtime, especially when blue light is involved.
Headspace points out, however, that the bed itself should be off-limits for any activity other than sleeping. This means no eating, working or viewing information in bed. This way, your brain associates bed with sleep, not meals, emails, or social media.
We’ve all been there, but your bed shouldn’t be a place where you toss and turn in mental agony, thinking about yesterday’s mistakes and tomorrow’s to-do list. If trying to fall asleep leaves you thinking and you’re still awake after about 20 minutes, Finding Your Best Sleep recommends getting out of bed and doing a relaxing activity in another room until you feel sleepy.
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A good night’s sleep starts in the morning
Taking the time each evening to prepare for the next morning was already second nature to me; packing my gym clothes and packing my lunch gives me a less hectic start to the day. But before Headspace, I hadn’t thought about how to prepare myself for a good night’s sleep throughout the day.
Because your waking hour keep your circadian rhythm or biological clocksimply failed wake up at a constant time Every morning, yes, including weekends, prepares you to fall asleep at the time of your choosing. Sun exposure It helps in the morning too.
I don’t usually drink coffee in the afternoon, but deliberately limiting my lattes to before noon helps me wind down earlier in the evening. I also eat dinner earlier so I have more time to digest before bed. I’ve been making my bed more diligently in the morning, which makes getting ready for bed a bit of a ritual. I’ve even started changing out of my pajamas in the morning, and I’m looking forward to finding other ways to make my nights easier during the day.
Settle down with a story
Thank you, Mom, for always reading me to sleep; I kept the safety blanket of narration close by. Yet when I read on my Kindle or iPad in bed, even in dark mode or warm light, I’m still staring at a screen with distractions at my fingertips. Reading a physical book means my bedside lamp stays on, and when I listen to an audiobook in the dark, I find myself straining to stay awake and listen.
This is where Headspace’s sleepcasts save the day. I still love reading at night, but once I’m in bed, it’s time for a deliberately sleepy story, pleasant enough to take my mind off things, but insignificant enough that I don’t mind falling asleep in the middle of the day. it. My favorite part is that each sleepcast starts with a relaxing meditation to calm the body before drawing the mind into a story.
Work hard, sleep hard
I don’t mean to say you have to work hard to earn a decent night’s sleep, although I do, without fail, sleep better at night after a workout. On the contrary, Headspace has taught me to work hard to get a good night’s sleep. Sleep is both a vital bodily function and a fragile goal to achieve.
It doesn’t take much to throw my sleep routine off track, and I’d be lying if I said I’ve seamlessly and consistently incorporated the tricks I’ve learned into my sleep hygiene over the past few months. The nights I’ve succeeded, however, have been followed by brighter days. Which reminds me, it’s time to pick out tonight’s pajamas.
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