SOME NIGHTS, YOU may fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. Other nights, you toss and turn, and it seems like you’ll never drift off. Lying there and peacefully resting has some restorative benefits, but it’s hard not to toss and turn, wishing sleep would come and frustrated that it’s not. Fortunately, there are some techniques that you can learn to help you fall asleep more quickly:
1. Give your phone a break.
We know you know that looking at screens right before bed isn’t the best Rx for falling asleep. "Screens activate our minds and make it hard to slow down for sleep," says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. "The brain can’t go from being on all day to suddenly off and asleep," he explains.
Even all-day screen time can mess with your ability to drift off. Spending a lot of time on your phone during the day often leaves little time for you to think, Dr. Dimitriu adds. "Our phones have filled in all the time gaps in our days. Your brain needs to think about stuff, and now, the only time that can happen is when you turn the lights off." Give yourself some phone-free moments so a whole day’s worth of stuff that needs to be processed doesn’t start up in full force when you get to bed.
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