This is an excerpt from “Episode 3 – Tracking Your Sleep and Hacks To Get A Better Sleep Tonight“
Over the years, I have tried different things to optimise my sleep, from different supplements to guided meditation, to learning biohacks from Ben greenfield and Marcus Aubrey.
After learning what worked well and what didn’t work so well, I thought it would be a really good idea to share these tips with you.
So in this article I’ve put together the Amazon Warrior Sleep Tips for you to get a better sleep tonight.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 1 – Limit Caffeine
Tip number one is to limit your caffeine before bed
I don’t have caffeine after 3:00 PM in the afternoon because that gives my body enough time to get rid of the caffeine intake prior to me going to sleep.
Each body is different. I know people that drink coffee all day and that can still fall asleep at night, but I don’t have caffeine, which includes black teas, energy drinks and dark chocolate after 3pm because I want a good deep sleep.
Keep in mind that it is not only about the number of hours that you get to sleep, it is also very much about the quality of sleep and the way that you will feel when you wake up.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 2 – Bedroom Temperature
Tip number two, make sure the bedroom is at a comfortable and cool temperature. 18 degrees Celsius is the ideal bedroom temperature. So personally, I love having fresh air whilst I sleep because my mom and dad raised me in a way that we should always sleep with the window open because then that way the brain gets to refresh. Now, this was quite interesting because in winter days in the Netherlands, which is where I grew up, it was really quite chilly. It was really quite fresh, and I did not want to sleep with the window open because I was scared that things would come and fly into the window, plus it was really cold.
Now, in my country, we don’t have fly screens like we have here in Australia. So anyway, that put aside, I always slept with the window open, and to this date I still love sleeping with the window open just a little bit, just for a little bit of fresh air. Some people love sleeping with the air conditioning on, now, I really do not like that. But each to their own, like for me, it’s too cold and too artificial and is not very fresh or hygienic.
But another thing that you can do to keep the bedroom at a comfortable and cool temperature, or at least to get some air flow, is to just put a fan on. Now, the bonus benefit of having a fan in your bedroom is white noise.
White noise can actually help you fall asleep and stay asleep as well. White noise creates a masking effect, blocking out those sudden changes that frustrate light sleepers, or people trying to fall asleep.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 3 – Minimise Bedroom Disturbances
Tip number three is to minimise disturbances in the room.
The idea is to try and eliminate the disturbances in the room which can be hard if you hear things such as crying children, noisy neighbours or external noises such as traffic, trams or trains.
If this is the case, you may benefit from sleeping with earplugs to try and reduce the noise.
One of today’s major disturbances is, yes you guessed it, TECHNOLOGY
So I don’t have any technology in the bedroom. The only thing that’ll be in my bedroom is my Oura Ring. To wake up, I actually use a wake up light, which is not anything like a phone, like it doesn’t have any EMFs, no radiation around me. So I try and do the best I can to eliminate the things that are within my control. So no laptops, no phones, no tablets, no wifi routers, nothing.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 4 – Complete Darkness
Tip number four is to make sure that your room is completely dark. Because even the tiniest amount of light creeping in through the curtains, or flashing led lights from alarm clocks can actually disturb your sleeping.
This is one of THE simplest biohacks that Marcus Aubrey recently discussed in one of his interviews.
This biohacking is probably THE EASIEST solution that you can implement tonight because there is nothing you need to purchase to make this happen. It doesn’t cost you anything, you can make these simple adjustments to-night.
The first thing that you can do to make the room completely dark is obviously to shut the blinds and if you have them, close your block out curtains. If you do have any light coming through from the windows, there’s a really simple thing that you can do.
You can use aluminium foil from the kitchen to just black out your windows. I know your neighbours are going to probably think you’re a little bit silly, but trust me, this one works great!
The second thing you can do to make the room dark, is If you have LED lights in the room from for example any electronics, or a tv, or smoke detector, simply put a sticker or small post it note over the LED light, or simply turn the device off if that is possible.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 5 – Create A Calm Oasis
Tip number five is to make sure that your bedroom is a calm and very pleasant oasis where you can relax.
You can use little things like soft lighting, like a salt lamp or some candles. This really helps to set the mood.
One thing that I also love is an aroma diffuser. Not does it look really nice , but it also adds a really nice scent to the bedroom.
My favourite essential oil for the bedroom is lavender, this is very relaxing and very soothing.
I think that the bedroom should be a place of calmness and relaxation. The bedroom should be kept just for sleep, to read a book, to relax have a massage or to make love.
This brings me to another point, which I think is very important because I’ve been there myself and I’m sure you can relate to this.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 6 – Don’t go to bed holding a grudge
I think it’s important to not go to bed holding a grudge or an argument.
Aim to always try to resolve an argument or a disagreement with your partner or your loved one before going to bed.
Don’t make the bedroom a place of arguments or discussion. Keep the bedroom peaceful, calm and quiet.
If an argument happens to unfold in the bedroom, literally take it out into the living room or take it out into the kitchen, have your argument there, but keep your bedroom as a calm oasis.
Keep the energy in the bedroom positive and relaxing.
Your bedroom should be your peaceful, calm oasis.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 7 – Get A Good Mattress and Pillow
Tip number seven to get a good sleep tonight is to invest in a high quality mattress and a pillow. We spend about one third of our life trying to get a sleep or sleeping, so make sure you do it right. It’s not until I saw my chiropractor that I finally, finally made the decision to purchase a really good pillow. Thank goodness that I did because since purchasing this, I’ve slept much, much better. I feel better in the morning when I wake up because my neck doesn’t feel as stiff, I don’t feel out of place, and I just feel good and ready to go. So if this is within your budget, invest in a good quality mattress and a pillow.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 8 – Guided Meditation or Bedtime Story
Tip number 8 to get a better sleep is to listen to a relaxing bedtime story or a guided meditation from an app such as Calm or Relax Melodies. Or perhaps you like reading a book before you turn the lights out. Now, I mix it up, some nights I’ll listen to a bedtime story, other nights I’ll listen to a guided meditation.
There are the odd nights where I’m just completely exhausted, and I’ll just fall asleep without any assistance from anything. And then there are other nights where I’ll just read a book to sort of zone out and let go off the day.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 9 – Lavender Essential Oil
Tip number 9 is to use essential oils such as lavender oil. Lavender oil is an amazing natural oil that can help you relax and it may help you get to sleep easier. You can try sprinkling some lavender oil on your pillow before you go to bed or you can put it in the diffuser or if you have a bath, put some of these drops into your bath, because it will be super, super nice. I use Uber Secrets Lavender Essential Oil.
Another product that I really love that’s got lavender is the Lush Sleep range. Now, this is a super nice, very soft smelling but very powerful body wash and body oil or body cream that you can use before bed. I use Uber Secrets, it’s a super nice one. The bottle lasts for a very long time. If you want one head on over to their website.
SLEEP TIP NUMBER 10 – Limit Screen time
Tip number 10 is to limit screen time after 8:00 PM.
Now, previously, we were talking about not having technology in the bedroom, but to get a little bit of an understanding of why I think it’s important to limit screen time is because the blue light, all this light from our screens, like from our phones, our laptops and our tablets, it actually stimulates the brain, and that’s why it’s so hard for the brain to get to sleep.
I know many people that will lay in bed and they’re just scrolling endlessly through their phone or watching YouTube videos. Yes, of course, if you put your phone to that automated sleep mode where the screen is adjusted and the blue tones are taken out and the colour of the screen changes, yes, these things do help, but I still believe that actually putting technology away from the bedroom is the way to go.
Now, I’m sure there’s plenty of you that don’t agree with that, but I’m just sharing with you to things that have worked for me. Instead of sitting on your phone or your laptop, perhaps it’s time for you to focus on some journaling, perhaps you can spend quality time with your loved ones, or like I said, you can read a book or listen to a guided meditation, something soothing, something relaxing, something to unwind the body, mind and soul. One of my old time favourites that is part of my morning and nighttime routine is gratitude journaling.
Now, when I wake up, the first thing I’ll do is grab my journal, write down three things that I’m grateful for, and I do the same at night.
Now, usually, at night, I’ll take a little bit more time to reflect on my day, write down a thing of importance that’s happened or something new I’ve learned or new people that I’ve met or something I’ve learned about myself or something amazing I’ve discovered online or outside, and then once I’ve written down the rest of my day, I will actually write down the things that I’m grateful for.
Now, obviously, I do this as a practice. Trust me, it is not always easy, it really takes a bit of time to sort of get into that and make a habitat of it. But the thing is once you keep doing it over and over again, it becomes a habit and it becomes a normal. I actually miss it when I don’t write down what I’m grateful for. Some days it’s easier than others. Some days I write more than others, some days I really don’t know where to start, and that’s okay. As long as you just write it down, I think that’s okay. I know that not all of you are into journaling or it’s just not you, that’s completely okay. You can still do the gratitude exercise when you lay in bed. Just before you turn the lights off, make yourself comfortable, let your body sink into the bed, and just before you switch off the lights, you can say out loud what you are grateful for.
I think gratitude has helped me come a long way. I’ve talked about this in the previous episode, and I think that once you try it, you might experience the good benefits of gratitude. Because instead of focusing on scarcity and focusing on the things that we don’t have, gratitude actually puts our brain into a state of abundance. All of a sudden, your energy and your thoughts are focused on all the good things that we do have. So give it a go and write down or say out loud three things that you are grateful for.
