Fall Asleep Faster-Snoring Secrets-

You’re exhausted. You’ve crammed as much into your day as possible, and now it’s time toget some sleep. Except you can’t sleep because there’s a snorer waiting for you and yourmind is still racing with to-do lists. Sound familiar? If you lie awake at the end of the day hoping the sleep fairy will grace you with some shuteye, you’re not alone. The four tactics below are designed to help you nod off faster everynight, even when the body next to you is snoring. Make these small changes and you’ll be indreamland before you know it.

So many people aren’t actually tired enough to fall asleep. Read that again. You may not even be tiredwhen you get into bed despite feeling exhausted. Here’s why. Throughout the day we are unbelievablysedentary, regardless of how much we pack into each day. Remember how well you slept as a kid afteran afternoon at the park or playing in the backyard? Well, the reason we fuel our bodies with food is tohave energy for moving around a lot, and one of the key reasons for sleep is recovery from this activity.

No movement = no reason for sleep. If you’re not giving your body a reason to need sleep, it’ll be way harder to fall asleep even if your brainis beat. Solution? Get moving. You don’t even need to hit the gym for an intense session, a simple strollafter dinner can work wonders. Of course, the more physical activity you get, the better. General healthguidelines suggest 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, so if you’ve been given the ok by yourdoctor to exercise, this one’s a no-brainer.

Be Tired enough for sleep

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Go from this...to this!

Clear Your Mind

Think you can’t redirect your mind when it worries? Think again! I’mabout to share a wildly unpopular truth that will save your sleep ifyou’re open to hearing it.

Ready? *takes big breath* Everything you focus on, worry about, orstress over is a choice. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but once youknow this, it will change not only your sleep but so many other areasof your life (that’s a whole other conversation). Being able to step backfrom your stressors brings awareness to what the issue is and whyyou’re reacting the way you are.

Try the exercise on the right to clear the worries from your mind.

Our minds naturally want something to focus on, and too often weallow worry to be the focus. By stepping back from the emotion,identifying it in an objective way, and then tasking your mind withpurposeful breathing, it satisfies the brain’s need to do something. Use these tactics each day for at least a week and see how much yoursleep improves. Like most things, the more we practice, the better theimpact. So, keep at it!

Any time panic sets in and

your mind starts racing, give

this simple technique a try. It

will give your mind

something productive (yet

light) to focus on so you're

not kept awake.

Action

Take a deep breath and

acknowledge there are

things you’re worried about.

Without any judgement, just

notice the thoughts crossing

your mind. Kind of like

taking inventory on a

clipboard. It's just stating the

facts.

Now, ask yourself (and

answer honestly):

- Can I be curious about how

I’m feeling?

- Can I factually list the

emotions without attaching

any reaction (“I shouldn’t feel

this way”)?

- Will any of my thoughts or

worries help solve

the issue right now?

- Can I commit to giving

these thoughts my full

attention at a later time with

the intention of finding a

solution?

- Take 10 deep breaths while

lying in bed with

your eyes closed and count

each one as you complete

the exhale.

Repeat if needed.

Try This!

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No News is Good News

Stop watching the news at night! As if you need any added negativityin your mind right before heading to bed with a snorer. Consuming anycontent (tv, movies, scrolling through IG, Facebook groups) before bedthat is emotionally-charged will very quickly have your mind in anemotional state. What we're trying to achieve, however, is a peacefulmind so you head off to sleep without additional stress in your body.This goes for difficult conversations with your friends and family aswell. You need to protect the state of your mind in the hours leadingup to bed, so be sure to have the heated conversations before dinner.No discussing bills, debt, working late, and contentious family mattersin the evening. It may seem overkill but how many times have you gone to bed angrybecause a fresh argument came up at night and you just had enoughtime to get in some sharp remarks before calling it a night? My guessis you didn't sleep very well that night because there's no way toresolve hurt feelings when they're that fresh. Of course you can't always prevent an argument, and you definitelycan't stop someone from saying something negative. Instead, let yourfamily know that you'd like to keep things light and fun in the eveningwhen you're spending time together. Ask that they bring up any issuesthat need to be dealt with as early in the day as possible so you canwork through it with a fresh mind. It's a win-win for everyone!

Finances are the number

one stress factor on a family.

And whether your family

talks (or fights) about money

in the open or keeps

everything bottled up, the

result is the same. Stress,

stress, and more stress.

Why not do yourself and your

family a favor by having a

specific time set aside to talk

about all things related to

money?

Here are some benefits of

this approach:

- By treating money

discussions like a meeting, it

makes it easy to know when

the issue will be dealt with.

No more late night talks

about what bills are overdue

and whose fault it is you're

not saving enough for

retirement.

- You can get in the right

mindset for the conversation

ahead of time. Too often we

bombard our spouse (or get

bombarded) with money

questions out of the blue.

That's not fair and rarely

ends well.

- Set a good example for the

kids. If your kids learn to

discuss money in a

constructive way, they're

significantly more likely to

be financially literate as

adults.

Try This!

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Your Bedroom is a Sanctuary

Take back your bedroom for its intended purposes: sleep and sex.

It’s not called the tv room, digital lair, office, boardroom, snack zone,or anything else. And that’s because its sole purposes are sleep andintimate activity. Period. So, an hour or so before you’d like to beasleep, head to your bedroom, get into your jammies and just relax.Spend some time with your partner in light conversation (now isn’t thetime to bring up your mother-in-law), enjoy some grown up fun, andcall it a night.

Once you cross the threshold of that room, abandon your devices anddon’t turn on anything with a screen. Keep your lights low (dimmerswork wonders) and use that time to wind down.

You should feel a sense of calm and serenity when you think aboutyour bedroom. It's a place for rest and quality time with your partner,in a comfortable, enticing setting. The bedroom is a sanctuary for sleepand should be treated with respect. If yours looks more like a rec roomor office, it’s time for an overhaul.

Take a look at the tips on the right if you need some ideas to improvethe ambiance of your bedroom. It'll be well worth the time to make anyof these changes.

Feel like your bedroom is

more storage closet than

inviting sleep lair? That's OK.

The good news is it's easy to

fix and you can take some

very simple steps to have a

major impact on the most

important sleep room in

your home. Try any of the

suggestions below and

watch the room transform

before your eyes:

- Install black-out curtains to

block nuisance light from

passing cars, street lights

and the morning sun. The

darker your room is, the

easier it'll be to fall asleep

and stay asleep.

- Lighting should be on a

dimmer or be a soft white

bulb. Nothing ruins sleep

faster than bright blue light

filtering into your eyes. In the

evening, turn off your

overhead lighting and rely

on lamps.

- Set the temperature for

sleep. Your body temp needs

to drop in order to fall asleep

so set your thermostat

accordingly. It should feel a

bit chilly but you can cozy

up under the covers to stay

warm.

- Comfy bedding doesn't

have to be expensive. Pick

something that feels nice on

your skin and you'll instantly

sleep better. Often this isn't

the bedding with the

highest thread count!

Try This!

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