Falling asleep is a natural process, so it should be easy, right? Ha! We wish. Of course, we've all had trouble getting to sleep at some point. But for many of us, it's a nightly struggle.
According to the CDC, about a third of us get fewer than six hours of sleep every night. But insomnia is actually more common among women than men. Without sleep, we have a harder time feeling optimistic and having gratitude. Weirdly, we also find it harder to have a sense of humor. And unfortunately, sleep deprivation can cause some seriously impaired driving.
We've heard all the classic advice (keep your timing consistent, limit caffeine, get your exercise in), but we're ready for the next steps. To help all of us get those necessary ZZZs, we're collecting our favorite sleep tips — all backed by recent studies.
Make A Ritual
When we talked to Arianna Huffington about achieving better sleep, her biggest piece of advice was to get a ritual going. She suggests taking a nice warm bath, taking your phone out of your room, and turning off your lights well before you actually want to fall asleep.
Other sleep experts have long advised doing the same few things before going to bed — every single night. The idea is to get your body and your mind into a relaxed Sleep Mode before your head hits the pillow. And consistency makes those cues stick. Having that solid routine will hopefully minimize tossing and turning — and maximize your time in dreamland.
Photographed by Maria Del Rio.
Track Your Period
It's no secret that our hormones play a role in pretty much every major bodily function. So perhaps it's no surprise that the monthly ebb and flow of estrogen and progesterone can affect our sleep.
The change that's most noticeable comes right before you get your period. Here, melatonin levels will drop as progesterone rises. It may be especially hard to fall asleep during these nights, but if you're tracking your cycle, you'll have a better idea of when to preemptively take that extra melatonin, warm bath, or Sleepytime tea.
Photographed by Rockie Nolan.
Grab Some Extra Fiber
Our meals and our ZZZ's are more connected than we realize. So what you eat can have a huge impact on how you sleep that night. And, as new research suggests, you can plan your food for the ultimate snooze.
The study, published recently in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, tracked what 26 participants ate and how they slept for five nights in a lab. Interestingly, they found that participants who ate more saturated fats and refined carbs tended to wake up more often during the night and spend less time in the deepest, more restorative stages of sleep.
On the flip side, those who ate more fiber experienced a deeper sleep. So try to fill up on leafy greens and whole grains during the day for more refreshing dream-filled nights.
Photographed by Rockie Nolan.
Curb The Social Media Madness
We know that using our various screens too close to bedtime can mess with our ability to drift off into dreamland. But a new study suggests there may be something particularly troubling about using those screens to catch up with our social media platform of choice.
In the study, to be published in an upcoming issue of Preventive Medicine, about 1,800 young adults (between the ages of 19 and 32) were asked about their social media use and sleeping habits. Those who used their various social media apps more often and for longer durations reported more frequent sleep disturbances.
So it's not just that you're looking at the screen, but what you're looking at. And as our own Lucie Fink recently found out, cutting down that virtual friend time may also help us remember what matters most IRL.
Photographed by Ben Ritter.
Try Melatonin — But Not Every Night
Supplements are tricky. What works for one person won't for another — or maybe, it'll give that person insane dreams and fatigue the next day. And because supplements aren't regulated like other drugs, there's not always a lot of solid research out there to go on. But melatonin is a pretty solid choice for sleep troubles, just know it's more effective in some situations than others.
In one study, melatonin was able to knock out participants in a hospital — even when surrounded by noise. But it doesn't seem like those beneficial effects stick around for too long. In a 2013 study of long-term melatonin use, the benefits wore off after 6 to 12 months of consistent use. So although melatonin may be great for emergency use, it's not something you want to end up relying on.
Photographed by Ben Ritter.
Don't Be Afraid To Call On A Professional
If you're dealing with nearly constant insomnia, you might want to seek some outside help. And although that might sound intimidating, a recent study found that most people got better sleep after just one session of therapy.
Specifically, this and other research has shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help those with insomnia. This type of therapy focuses on giving people tools to assess their thought and behavior patterns and make concrete steps towards improving them. But this study suggests that getting that improvement doesn't have to be a huge investment.
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