7 Ways to Sleep Better

We all have busy days and sometimes it's hard to prioritize exercise. But even if you can’t fit in your full workout every day, enjoy a few stretches before bed to tell your limbic system it’s time to chill. There are many options online, like Yoga Journal’s simple 6-pose sequence, which features poses you’ll recognize if you’ve taken basic yoga, like twists and child’s pose.

If you are the type to be kept awake by errant thoughts, followed by anxiety about forgetting those errant thoughts, having a pen and a pad of paper by your bed makes all the difference. That way, you can jot down whatever pops into your head at 1:00am (e.g. “send Dad a birthday gift”), taking the onus off of your brain to keep reminding you about it – on a loop – while you try to sleep.

We’re not going to tell you not to watch TV before bed. Isn’t that great? You’re welcome. However, we are going to tell you not to watch anything completely disturbing before bed! Creepy cult documentaries and their ilk should be avoided after dark if you are remotely susceptible to nightmares or waking up panicked, convinced that your coat rack is a human.

My mom always said, if you can’t sleep, read a book. True, some sleep experts frown upon reading in bed, but on this one, I say mother knows best. With the constant bombardment from phones and computers these days, a book will invariably be chiller than anything you did all day (no eBooks allowed). So if you can’t sleep, read a few pages, get your mind off yourself, and prepare to drift in no time.

No, seriously. The worst thing that you can do when you can’t sleep is beat yourself up for not being able to sleep. Maybe you’re just not tired. So if your quest to clock a perfect eight hours devolves into self-flagellation when you don’t, hit snooze on the sleep-tracking for a few days and see how you feel. If the sleepless nights have no avail, you could have insomnia; here’s how to help. 

I know, I know – essential oils have been around for so long that it’s hard to get excited about them. But the humble essential oil has kept right on chugging through the rise and fall of many a lesser wellness trend – R.I.P. acai – because it works. When it comes to getting relaxed before bed the natural way, nothing beats a few drops of lavender, the go-to sleep scent, in the diffuser. Here’s a list of what we’re diffusing.

If aches or soreness are the thing keeping you up at night, pick up a CBD lotion to apply before bed. Lord Jones’ High CBD Body Lotion, the star of the moment, gets bonus points for chic packaging that’ll look great on your bedside table. Made from the non-psychoactive chemical compound found in hemp and marijuana plants, CBD is great for relaxing tight muscles without the painkillers.