Industry News

news | 02.15.19

50 Easy Ways to Sleep Better

You can finally rest easy—we asked sleep experts to tell us everything they know about the healthy habits that help you sleep better.

Know your chronotype

Most of us classify ourselves as early birds or night owls. But according to renowned sleep doctor Michael Breus, PhD, people fall into four sleep styles known as chronotypes. You can be a bear, lion, dolphin, or wolf. Understanding your chronotype can help you optimize your sleep schedule, improving your overall health and quality of life. Find out what you are by taking the chronotype quiz here.

Young woman with pillow over her head with alarm clock on bed in the morning. Student or schoolgirl do not want to wake up early for school or univercity. Oversleep, not getting enough sleep concept.

Set an alarm at night, too

“We all have good intentions about going to bed at the right time,” says Dr. Breus, “but then we’re folding laundry, packing lunches, and binge-watching Netflix until late.” In order to keep your sleep schedule consistent and sleep better, set an alarm to go to bed just like you’d set one to get out of bed. These are 13 more secrets sleep doctors want you to know.

Alarm clock on the nightstad

Get your heart pumping daily

“The single best way to improve the quality of your sleep is to do 20 minutes of cardio per day,” says Dr. Breus. No gym membership? No problem! This can be as easy as parking further away from your house and going for a long walk home. Just don’t take a brisk walk too close to bedtime; cut off exercise about four hours before lights out to sleep better.

Close up of young runners legs running up the stairs in running clothes

Read the full Readers Digest article here.