Top 5 Fridays! 5 Ways to Improve Your Sleep

Lack of sleep has been associated with everything from chronic pain states, decreased concentration/problem solving, and longer recovery periods for injuries. Needless to say, quality and quantity of sleep is very important!

1) Limit the amount of screen time an hour before bed

blue light from phones/tablets has been linked with difficulty sleeping and poor sleep quality
if you have android, you're in luck, use the app screen filter to reduce blue light and read away!
iOS, not so lucky, although studies show turning down the brightness to lowest setting and holding the device 2 feet away from you at an angle similarly reduces blue light

2) Limit caffeine intake in the late afternoon or early evening

I love coffee! However, if I have a cup after dinner I toss and turn for several hours at night
if this sounds like you and you have a habit of drinking 2-3 cups/day, try decreasing by 1 cup and see what happens

3) Prepare your bed!

Check out this Physio Answers post I wrote a while back on different and supportive sleep positions
many who toss and turn or have pain at night have found the positions very comfortable

4) Exercise regularly

regular activity, especially in the afternoon has been associated with better sleep
some experts say not to exercise at night, but some have said that it helps them sleep
regardless, if you have difficulty sleeping or falling asleep at night, try something new with your exercise routine, either change the time, or start exercising more (possibly less)

5) Get a good evening routine going

I learned the value of a evening routine upon having a kid that did not sleep very well as a baby
the same holds true for adults, don't expect to be able to fall asleep easily after exercising heavily, then spending an hour on facebook with the lights on
listen to relaxing music, and start your wind down 1 to 1.5 hours prior to the time that gets you your ideal number of hours of sleep

There are a number of "life hacks" that improve sleep quality, but these are some of my favorites. Sleep quality is something I go after on patients that are having difficulty keeping their improvements between visits or are unable to return to training.

Keeping it Eclectic...