Life can be overwhelming, and when stress takes over, sleep is often the first thing to suffer. But quality rest is crucial for resilience, mental clarity, and overall well-being. When your sleep suffers, poor sleep can compound with emotional and physical stress to make your day that much more difficult, creating a cycle that desperately needs to be broken. If you’ve got career or financial stress that’s preventing you from prioritizing rest, these three science-backed strategies can help you sleep better.
1. Create a Wind-Down Routine that Speaks to YOU
You can send your body a signal that it’s time to shift from high-alert to rest mode. A relaxing wind-down routine not only helps with stress reduction, but the repetition cues your body that it’s time for sleep. Over time, a consistent wind-down routine can decrease the amount of time it can take you to fall asleep.
What makes a good wind-down routine?
Tailor your wind-down routine to fit how you like to relax, it shouldn’t be a chore at the end of the night. A good wind-down routine is often sensory, and can include creating night-time lighting that uses dimmed tabletop lights vs overhead fixtures. The ritual of taking a warm bath or sipping hot, decaf tea serves as a way to physically relax within a set time frame. Light stretching or your own mindfulness activity has been shown to lower cortisol levels, making it easier to transition to sleep.
Timing tip: Start winding down at least 30–60 minutes before bed for the best results.
2. Stick to a Consistent Wake & Sleep Time
Our bodies thrive on routine. Going to bed and waking up at the same time—even on weekends—reinforces your circadian rhythm, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up feeling refreshed. Maintaining consistent sleep / wake times regulates your body’s production of hormones like melatonin and cortisol – hormones that make you feel tired at night and alert in the morning – so that you naturally feel tired at the same time every night.
Try this: Set a consistent bedtime alarm and avoid drastic shifts in your schedule, even after a late night. On weekends, try to wake within an hour of your weekday wakeup time.
3. Reduce Screen Time Before Bed
This can be hard to avoid, but scrolling through social media before bed or watching TV can trick your brain into staying awake. The blue light from screens suppresses melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy, and gives you a false sense of alertness. Screen time can be a compounding problem when you’re stressed, as many of us use time on our phones to make up for lost personal time during the day. Let your wind-down routine serve as time to connect with yourself and relax before bed.
Try this: Swap your phone for a book or a guided meditation app with audio-only mode.
Debunking Common Sleep Myths
There’s a lot of misinformation about sleep. Let’s set the record straight:
Myth: You can “catch up” on sleep over the weekend.
Truth: While an occasional 20 minute nap can do wonders for alertness, chronic sleep debt isn’t easily repaid. Longer sleep times can disrupt your circadian rhythm, making it harder to get back to your sleep routine, leaving you feeling groggy throughout the day.
Myth: A nightcap helps you sleep.
Truth: Alcohol may make you feel drowsy, but it disrupts your later sleep stages and can lead to more nighttime awakenings. It may help you fall asleep, but it prevents you from getting truly restorative sleep.
Myth: You should stay in bed if you can’t fall asleep
Truth: Lying awake for long periods of time creates the wrong association between your brain and your bed and often leads to feeling frustrated. If it’s been more than half an hour, it’s better to get up and do something relaxing, returning to bed when you feel sleepy. When you get up, keep the lights dim and don’t turn on a screen. Try some light stretching, read, or do something mundane.
Final Thoughts
Stressful times can make sleep feel elusive, but small changes can have a big impact. By maintaining a consistent schedule, winding down properly, reducing screen exposure, and avoiding common myths, you can rest easier—even when life feels overwhelming.
If you’re looking for ways to optimize your sleep, discover how Bryte’s smart beds not only adapt to your needs for deeper, more restorative rest, but also how features like the BryteWaves library help you destress before bed and build a better wind-down routine. (The code “HerMoney” will give listeners $500 off the Bryte Balance model and $750 off Bryte Balance PRO and PRO Conform. Just apply the code at checkout from Bryte.com!)
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