Are you having trouble falling asleep, not having rested sleep so it feels like you’ve been in really light sleep, having interrupted sleep, or waking up still feeling like you haven’t really slept even though you’ve been in bed for the last 8 hours? If this sounds like you, this video has all the tips you’ll need to help you get a better night’s sleep - with no medications and only using natural remedies.

No time to watch this 9-minute video? Read the transcript below!

TRANSCRIPT:

Hi! I’m Jaime Tan at Enlightened Spoon - wellness coach, yoga + meditation teacher and nutritional therapist helping overworked high achievers manage stress. Every week on this channel, you’ll get hot tips on nutrition, fitness and lifestyle just like today’s, other times you’ll get yoga sequences or meditation practices to help bring more grace, ease and flow into your busy life.

So smash that like button now if you’re into it!

In my next video, I’ve got a slow bedtime yoga sequence that’s gonna help stretch you out, and release all the tension in your body, getting you nice and relaxed for bedtime. So if that sounds like something you need, do hit subscribe and the bell next to it, so you’re notified when it drops next week.

Have You Read My 5-Part Sleep Series?

In today’s video, I’ll give you the top 5 tips to help you get a better night’s sleep. I’ve actually written a 5-part series on sleep that goes into much more detail about sleep hygiene - or how to wind down for bedtime; all the foods that are best for and foods that are worst for sleep, as well as the natural supplements and guided meditations that might help you get into a better sleepy state. All natural remedies.

Get a 12-minute Guided Meditation For Sleep:

I’ve also got a free 12-minute guided meditation for sleep if you like the sound of my voice and want to hear the sound of my dulcet tones helping you drift off to sleep. I’ll put that link in the description below too.

The Importance of Good Quality Sleep

Before we move into my top 5 tips, just a quick reminder why getting a good night’s sleep that’s deep and uninterrupted is so important. In today’s “hustle and grind” culture, running on too little sleep is often worn like a badge of honour. Unfortunately, this approach is gonna lead you down the path of burnout. It’s not smart.

Sleep is essential for growth and repair - it’s when our brains and bodies clear out the gunk that has accumulated over the course of the day. So you want to not only get a good amount of sleep, but more importantly good quality sleep.

My top 5 tips? Here we go:

1. Turn Off Gadgets

The bright lights emitted from devices prevent melatonin release, the hormone required to induce sleep.

So remove all screen time at least one hour before bedtime to allow your brain to naturally start to produce melatonin, helping you wind down and feel sleepy.

Some people might swear by blue light blockers - those geeky amber glasses that cut down the blue light glare from devices… and while that might be beneficial to reduce the strain on your eyes from looking at a screen all day, when it comes to producing melatonin in the brain - light is light.

Blue light at night suppresses melatonin production more powerfully, so yes - wearing your blue light blockers at night might help marginally, but light is still light. Any kind of light from eight lux and above suppresses the secretion of melatonin. So don’t kid yourself thinking you can watch Netflix with your blue light blockers in bed. It’s STILL going to mess with your sleep.

Just get off your screen at night.

2. Dim the Lights

Which leads to point #2. Start to dim the lights about 1 - 2 hours before bedtime. Reducing any kind of light exposure from not just your screens but also your room lights will help your brain naturally start to produce melatonin, helping you wind down and feel sleepy.

Consider getting a dimmer for your room lights, or perhaps switch to smaller desk or floor lamp lighting. Phillips Hue lights are great for not only changing the brightness of your lights, but also the colour temperature, creating an environment that welcomes sleep.

3. Natural Supplements

With all this talk about helping to enhance your melatonin production, there are of course natural supplements you CAN take to increase melatonin levels. Depending where in the world you are, you might be able to buy straight-up melatonin. But it’s prescription-only in some countries, so the next best alternative is taking natural supplements that not only encourage your body’s natural melatonin production, but also help relaxation.

Check with your healthcare practitioner, especially if you’re on prescribed medications right now, but some options are: magnesium, cherry supplements (yes cherries are high in melatonin), herbs like passionflower and valerian. CBD oil from the hemp plant is also another great relaxant.

In part 4 of my sleep series, I’ve included a whole bunch more recommendations for the natural supplements you can take to help you wind down. Much better than taking a sleeping pill - so check that link in the description below.

And hey - if you’re getting value out of these tips so far, you might like my 5 mind + body tips I send out every month to help you stress less yet achieve more:

GET 5 MIND + BODY TIPS: Stress less, sleep better, live well-balanced

4. Don’t Eat Big Meals at Night

We’ve all been there before… eating that huge meal for dinner, only to feel that lump sitting in your stomach all night. So instead of resting and sleeping, your body’s busy digesting all night. Sometimes heavy, greasy meals also lead to indigestion… which can also keep you up all night if you’re bloated and gassy… and… whatever other icky feeling you might be feeling.

So eat a light meal at dinner… and ensure you’re eating at least 3 hours before bedtime, to give yourself enough time to digest before your head hits the pillow.

In Part 2 and Part 3 of my sleep series, I go more in-depth into the best foods to help trigger sleep and the worst foods that hinder sleep, so do check out those links I’ll put in the description below.

5. Create Your Power-Down Ritual

Our bodies and brains like routines… so creating your own wind-down, power-down ritual every night before bedtime helps it recognise the signal for “oh, it’s time to power-down now”.

Turning the lights down low might be a part of it, but think of what other rituals you enjoy that you can start to incorporate into your power-down routine… Perhaps it’s putting on some relaxing, calming music, or diffusing relaxing essential oils like lavender or bergamot, or drawing an epsom salt bath - those magnesium salts enhance muscle relaxation too.

Another alternative could be listening to a guided meditation for relaxation and sleep. In part 5 of my sleep series, I’ve included a whole bunch of recommendations for the apps and meditation styles that can you help you wind down - so check the link in description below.

And as part of your wind-down routine, you might like to try a short yoga sequence to help stretch out all the tension in your body, loosening you up. Because when your body is relaxed, that’s when your mind tends to more easily relax too. Stay tuned for my next video where I’ll take you through a 20-minute yoga sequence for your bedtime power-down. Maybe this can become one of your power-down rituals too.

Need More Help?

If you need more guidance on how to deal with your lack of sleep, and if your exhaustion is weirdly keeping you up at night with racing thoughts - this is exactly what I help people with in my 12-week program.

We go through the 3 pillars of mind, body, soul - managing your stress levels through working on your mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. We create your personal rituals around nutrition, fitness and lifestyle - including sleep - that support and nourish you, rather than deplete and exhaust you further.

I offer a free session to help you figure out how to personalise what to eat, how to move and other lifestyle rituals that can help support your busy, stressful life. Book your session here:

Find out more about 12 weeks to a renewed you here

Questions or comments on today’s video? I’d love to hear from you what YOU think. Agree/ disagree?

If you enjoyed this video, please give it a like, and check out these other videos for more nutrition, fitness and lifestyle tips on how to flow through your busy life with more grace, ease and flow, and I’ll see you in the next one!