Are you sleeping enough? In case you haven't heard, getting more sleep has major benefits for both your body and mind. Sleeping more can help boost your mood, strengthen your decision-making abilities and even improve your memory, to name a few. Plus without it, you run the risk of turning into a crazy, irritated zombie come the following morning. (Convinced yet?) But the truth is, most of us are not sleeping enough. Instead, we end up hitting the coffee shop every few hours to compensate the next day. Not exactly a healthy lifestyle.
What stands in the way of getting a good night's sleep? A lot of the time, it's just life in general that makes it hard to make sleep a priority. You're busy finishing up work, binge-watching TV shows and scrolling through eyebrow tutorials on Instagram—and before you know it, it's midnight. (And, worse, you probably don't even feel that tired.) Not to mention, it's tough to prioritize sleep, since it's not like you really notice the full benefits until you wake up without them the next morning. So what can you do about it? Get better at the go-to-sleep game.
In collaboration with Wet Brush, here are some tricks to get you to bed fast—and maybe even snag an extra half-hour of shut-eye in the morning, too. You snooze, you win.
1. Go to Bed With a Wet Head
The hair hack to end all hacks: Going to bed with wet hair guarantees you'll wake up to a better hair day—as long as you remember to prep it before you fall asleep. First, brush it out with a brush designed for wet hair, like Wet Brush Original Detangling Brush, which won't snap strands. Then, experiment. If you have thin, flat hair, try sleeping with your hair in a loose bun, which lifts hair at the root overnight without damaging your locks. Or braid your hair before bed for soft waves in the a.m.
2. Invest In A Silk Pillowcase
We know, we know. It sounds like the As Seen On TV ad of the century. But if you want to spend more time snoozing and less time fighting knots in the morning, it's time to ditch your typical cotton pillowcase—which can create serious friction on hair and lead to dullness, frizz and even breakage. A silk pillowcase has a smoother surface, so it's way less likely to tug and rough up delicate strands.
3. Take a Hot Bath
But not just any hot bath. Throw in some lavender-infused bath salts or foam for a soak that'll ease you right to sleep. The scent of lavender has a calming effect that helps you catch extra Zs, while the drop in your body temperature—aka when you go from a steamy bath to a chillier bathroom—helps you fall into a deeper sleep more quickly.
4. Unplug Everything
Even your Kindle. If you're serious about your sleep, put your electronics aside—including your phone (you can do it!)—and pick up an old-school paperback. The blue light from these devices throws off your natural production of melatonin, a hormone that controls your sleep cycle.
5. Wear A Hair Mask
It's an easy way to put eight hours of shut-eye to good use. Wake up, rinse it off, and your guaranteed good hair day will put you ahead of schedule—which means you can reallocate those extra minutes into more sleep.
6. Go To Bed At The Same Time Every Night
In addition to the numbers on your iPhone, your body runs on its own clock. And while you're able to manipulate that to some extent (by, say, adjusting your schedule when you travel to a different timezone) it's not exactly advisable on a regular basis. If you go to bed at 11 p.m. one night and 2 a.m. the next, you're messing with this clock—meaning that if you try to go to bed at 10 p.m., you're probably going to have a tough time falling asleep.
7. Skip The Late-Night Snack (...And Drink)
We're the worst. We know. But when your body processes a meal, it revs up your digestive system, which can potentially wake you up—even out of a deep sleep. On top of that, alcohol affects your brain function, which can prevent you from getting the undisturbed, restorative sleep your body needs.
8. Don't Count Sheep
Sheep just aren't challenging enough for human brains. (Seriously.) To distract yourself from the fact that you've been awake for 40 minutes and counting, it's better to do something a little more thought-intensive. Experts suggest counting numbers backwards—that is, starting from any random number like 100 and counting down in intervals of three. It's so crazy, it just might work.
This post is sponsored by Wet Brush.
Images: Fotolia (9)
