How to Relax for a Better Night’s Sleep: Tips & Hacks

Do you struggle with getting to sleep at night? Then you’re not alone. Studies show that at least 1 in 5 adults in the UK aren't getting enough sleep. Which is extremely high! Sleep helps your body repair, aids brain function, encourages positive mental health, and the list of benefits goes on.

It’s extremely important to get between 7-9 hours every night. However, many people struggle to get that amount of sleep. From lifestyle to job stresses, to young families to sleep-related illness (just to name a few), there is an array of reasons why people don't get enough sleep.

In this blog, we aim to give you some simple tips to help relax for a better night's sleep. From sports massage to sleep apps to creating a nighttime routine, we delve into our favourite ways to aid sleep.

Tips on How to Relax for a Better Night’s Sleep

Before we dive in if you’re really struggling to sleep we recommend you seek medical advice from your doctor. These tips are guidelines to help you sleep but if they aren’t working, speaking to a medical professional can make a real difference!

Let’s get started:

Create a Nighttime Routine

We have touched on the importance of sleep already in some of our blogs recently. However, a nighttime routine might be one of the most important ways to get better sleep. 

Setting a consistent and repetitive set of activities before bed will help create a great nighttime routine. This can include a set bedtime, not using your phone before bed, evening self-care, a sleep podcast, preparing your bedroom for sleep, reading a good book etc. 

Make sure whatever routine you create, it’s one that can be done each night, even when you’re away on holiday or business trips. Keeping your routine simple will allow you to relax and unwind each night before bed and creates a positive habit.

Put your Phone Away

By putting your technology away before bed, you're reducing your exposure to the blue light from your phone/laptop screen. The blue light hinders the production of melatonin in your body. 

Melatonin is the hormone responsible for helping your fall asleep and waking you up the next morning. Therefore using your phone at night makes it much harder for your body to regulate falling asleep and waking up.

This negatively impacts your sleep pattern. Reducing your screen time in the evening will give your body the best chance of falling asleep. 

Use a Sleep App

A new way of aiding sleep is by trying out a sleep app. These are brilliant for encouraging your mind to switch off and relax. 

There are a wide variety of sleep apps you can use. Firstly, there are apps that use music, stories and guided meditation to help you relax into a deep sleep. These are great for those who struggle to get off to sleep at night. 

Listening to something before bed (that is designed to help you sleep) helps calm your autonomic nervous system. This can lead to a slower heart rate, lower blood pressure and slower breathing, ultimately helping you fall asleep.

Secondly, you can use sleep apps to help track your sleep. By tracking your sleep, these apps can help you wake up when you’re in your lightest sleep stage. 

They also track how much REM sleep you get per night. REM sleep plays an important role in dreaming, memory, emotional processing, and healthy brain development. They also track your movements and help you interpret the data.

Whichever sleep app you choose to use, promoting relaxation and calm before bed can aid your mind and body in relaxing.

Exercise During the Day

Exercise is known for releasing endorphins. It releases serotonin which can help relax the body and therefore aid sleep.

This can be simple as a long walk or a session in the gym, however you choose to get your exercise in, it can benefit your sleep massively!

If you’re struggling to sleep at night, even after exercising, try doing a gentle yoga session or stretches to relax your body and mind. This can be paired with meditation too which also aids sleep and relaxation. 

Try Sports Massage Therapy

If you’re still struggling to sleep, a great way of helping your body is through sports massage therapy. Sports massage increases the production of melatonin almost immediately through the use of massage techniques. As we mentioned earlier melatonin is the hormone that regulates sleep. 

Massage also has a positive effect on the nervous system, again aiding your body in the transition into sleep. Sports massage therapy reduces stress, aids recovery and calms the body and mind. 

Love helping others? Then become a sports massage therapist here. Whether you’re in the fitness industry now or not yet, you can become a sports massage therapist. All you need is a passion for helping others. 

Get started today online or check out our face-to-face intensive course. Learn the information you need to know about becoming a sports massage therapist here. 

Check out our blogs on sports massage therapy here.

Try Herbal Tea 

Did you know that 400 billion cups of coffee are drunk worldwide every year? Now, that’s a lot of hot drinks! As much as we love caffeinated drinks, they should be avoided where possible in the early afternoon and evening.

Studies have found caffeine can delay the timings of your body clock, therefore reducing your overall sleep time. You can swap caffeinated drinks with herbal teas like decaffeinated green tea, chamomile tea and lavender tea. 

Many of these natural remedies use herbs that affect certain ​​neurotransmitters, this can help aid sleep by decreasing stress and anxiety. 

We hope these sleep tips help you find deeper relaxation and sleep in the evening. Whether you choose to try sports massage therapy or a new type of herbal tea, promoting great sleep will positively affect your life. Sleep reduces stress, lowers your risk of disease, and improves your mood and productivity.           

Interested in helping others lead a healthy lifestyle? Become a personal trainer, sports massage therapist or group training instructor today with FIT.