You can’t sleep. You toss and you turn all night just to wake up at 6 am feeling like a zombie that barely has enough brainpower to order coffee. You’re so tired, you might not even make it to work because you can barely keep your eyes open as it is. Establishing a solid sleep routine is vital to get better quality sleep, for better rest, recovery, and productivity. Here are a few easy steps you can incorporate into your nightly sleep routine, to get better sleep, so you don't feel like a zombie. 

1. How To Get Better Sleep: Power It Down

Instead of watching TV or endlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed, shut down all of your electronics at least an hour before bed. The blue light or LED light that is emitted from electronic devices can sabotage your sleep by suppressing the production of melanin and triggering an increase in brain activity [R]. Putting your phone in ‘night shift’ can help by emitting more amber light and limiting blue light, but it still might affect the quality of your sleep and exacerbate your sleep problems. Set aside some time to relax, take a bath and maybe read a book. If you want to get better quality sleep, the first step is to power down your electronics, so it powers down your neural activity. And if you do stay up, invest in a pair of blue light glasses, so you can at least try and get better quality sleep.

2. How To Get Better Sleep: Cut Your Caffeine

Another reason you can’t sleep could be because you’re consuming too much caffeine late in the day. Caffeine can have a negative effect on sleep quality and duration. Since caffeine is a stimulant and everyone’s tolerance to caffeine is different, it’s important to understand how caffeine affects you and your sleep activity. If you’re more sensitive to caffeine, try cutting out all caffeine related food and drinks, coffee, tea, soft drinks (soda) by the late afternoon. It might be exactly what you need to get better quality sleep.

RELATED ARTICLE 6 Natural Sources Of Caffeine Other Than Coffee

3. How To Get Better Sleep: Don’t Drink Alcohol Before Bed 

Having a beer is no big deal and traditionally can have a relaxing effect on the body. But, over consumption and excessive drinking can have a negative impact on the quality of your sleep. Several studies have indicated that consuming alcohol can temporarily help with sleepiness, but can instigate disrupted sleep patterns and cause you to wake up more frequently during the night [R].Alcohol can also cause a reduction in REM sleep, leaving you feeling groggy in the morning [R]. Instead of reaching for the glass of red wine to relax, try drinking a protein shake to help induce protein synthesis and recover from your workout. It will help you sleep better and recover faster.  

4. How To Get Better Sleep: Supplement With ZMA (Zinc, Magnesium, & Vitamin B6)

Zinc and magnesium have been proven to help enhance sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep duration. Supplementing a high-quality ZMA (Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamin B6) into your nightly sleep routine is a natural way that can help you get better quality sleep you’ve been looking for.

Recent studies suggest that Zinc may be directly involved with the regulation of sleep, particularly sleep quality and duration [R]. Studies also suggest that Magnesium can improve sleep efficiency, sleep time, and natural concentrations of melatonin [R].

RELATED ARTICLE The Benefits Of ZMA Supplementation: More Than Just A Sleep Aid 

But if Melanin is what makes you sleep better, then why not just supplement with it? Even though melatonin can aid in longer sleep duration and better overall sleep quality, melatonin is not really as effective as other sleep aids [R]. Melatonin is a neurohormone produced by the pineal glands in the brain, and affects many more bodily functions than just sleep. Melanin helps regulate body temperature, blood pressure, glucose regulation, and cortisol levels, as well as immune system function [R]. Melatonin has not been shown to have any serious side effects, however some researchers believe that supplementing with Melatonin, can reduce the production of melatonin in the body. However, there have been no long-term studies that have been shown to exhibit this effect.

RELATED ARTICLE 3 Proven Benefits Of Melatonin For Sleep

Implement a high-quality ZMA supplement into your routine, so you can stop waking up during the night and get the restful sleep you need. We suggest using ZMT

5. How To Get Better Sleep: Turn Your Bedroom Into A Cave

Keeping the light in your room to a minimum will definitely help you get better quality sleep. Draw the shades, close the curtains, turn down the lights, and create a sleepy cave you can hibernate in without being disturbed. Less disturbance, means more quality sleep.

6. How To Get Better Sleep: Sleep With Heavier Blankets

The application of deep pressure has been reported to produce a calming and relaxing effect, especially with those that have anxiety and sleep disorders. According to a study published in the Journal of Sleep Medicine, the application of a weighted blanket has a positive effect on sleep both objectively and subjectively. Participants exhibited calmer sleep with a decrease in movement and expressed more comfort, better quality, and more secure sleep [R].

How To Get Better Sleep: Takeaway

Getting an adequate amount of high-quality sleep is vital to facilitate recovery, initiate the muscle building process, and to recover from brain fatigue caused by normal daytime activities. If you have trouble sleeping, or just want to get better quality sleep, implementing some of these steps into your nightly routine, will help improve your sleep.