Not being able to get to sleep at night is horrible, you’ve had an exhausting day, you know you have lots to do tomorrow and you need to get up early, yet you lie there tossing and turning and can’t get to sleep at all. So what can you do about it? Well below we look at 3 things you can do to make sure you get a good nights sleep:

Relax before bed: This sounds simple, but often it is not. Our lives are busy and we are always rushing about with loads of things on our mind, and if you try to go straight from being in that state, to lying down and expecting to sleep, then it doesn’t work. We are bombarded constantly with things that try to get our attention, or things we need to get done etc, if you try to go to sleep after experiencing all that then often you lie there with your head spinning and you can’t shut off and get the sleep you want.

Most people think they can relax by watching some TV before bed, but then you are stimulating yourself with colourful and noisy adverts, explosions, twists and turns etc, which is just making your head spin even more. Reading for 20 – 30 minutes before you go to bed is one of the best ways to settle down and relax, or you could write a list of all the things you need to do the next day, that way you don’t lie awake fretting about what you need to do instead.

Add some noise to the night: You can actually get devices called white noise generators which produce a constant sound that helps to drown out the small noises of the night, and break up the silence which can sometimes be unnerving. Don’t ask me why having some noise in the background can help soothe you into a peaceful sleep, but I know it works because I keep a dehumidifier in my room so I can have the constant humming noise to listen to. Give it a try and see if you like it as much as I do!

Exercise: I don’t mean going on an exercise bike just before bed, which will actually make it harder to get to sleep, but if you do some exercise during the day then you will be more tired when you go to bed so your mind and body will gratefully surrender to sleep. It also means you’ll get a better quality of sleep because you are making yourself healthier so your body does not have to fight as many problems during the night (if you keep up the exercise).

There are loads of different ways for you to get to sleep quicker, these are just 3 of my favourites, and you might actually need to combine all 3 if you really struggle to get to sleep. I know these methods seem like a lot of hard work, but the next time you are lying there not able to sleep then I don’t think you’ll be grumbling about a bit of extra work if it saves you looking at the ceiling for hours every night.