Lessons from Jake: Sleep is Important.

We’ve heard it many times before – our dogs teach us just as much as we teach them. Usually more.

This week, I’m launching a brand new series on the blog – Lessons from Jake. This series is brought to you by the one and only - my lovable, cuddly, sometimes slobbery, and always hungry dog Jake.

This week’s topic? Rest.

Here’s a photo of Jake – but you can’t see him, since he’s resting. His favorite way to sleep is to wrap himself completely in blankets, so he’s invisible (or so he thinks) to the outside world. His tactics work pretty well; even after several years of this, I still have moments of panic where I convince myself that my dog has vanished into thin air or gotten stuck somewhere in the basement, unable to escape.

Anyway, I talk to a lot of people who would like better sleep – more sleep, an easier time falling asleep, and more of the super restful kind of sleep that leaves us feeling energized and alive when we wake up in the morning. Here are a few tips for getting better sleep. No full-body-blanket-burrito required.

1. Ditch the Electronics Before Bed.

I know, I know, we’ve heard this a million times before – but it’s actually true. As difficult as it might be, wrap up your work emails, ditch the late-night-scrolling-through-Facebook habit, and turn off the TV at least an hour before bed.

I’m just as guilty as the next gal when it comes to reaching for my phone in the moments before bed, so here are a couple new guidelines recently implemented at my house:

The bed is an electronics-free zone. As in, no devices that turn on/off/make sounds of any sorts are allowed on the premises of the queen size mattress. Although I’ve slipped a couple times, I’ve become much more aware of my grab-the-phone-and-see-what’s-happening-in-the-world-late-at-night habit, and nowadays have to physically get up and out of the bed if the urge is so strong that I can’t resist. I’ve found that the effort required to catch up on world news outside of the bed outweighs my desire to know about it, so instead I settle for grabbing a book. The result? I’m reading more, falling asleep faster, and avoiding Miley Cyrus stories sneaking into my Feedly. See, nightmare prevention already.

Work and email are cut off at 8 pm. We’re still figuring out the right time for the cutoff, but the idea is to become much more deliberate about calling it a night (literally) to allow more time before bed  for late night cooking, conversation, and relaxation. 

2. Get in a Routine.

As much as possible, aim to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time each day, even on the weekends. Increasing evidence is showing that consistent sleep leads to better health.

This can require diligence and a bit of planning, especially on the weekends. Here are some ideas to get into a consistent groove with your sleep:

Choose your weekend activities wisely. We really throw our sleep schedule for a loop after a night of socializing over beverages into the wee hours of the morning. There’s no need to stop seeing friends and having fun, but consider giving up on arriving “fashionably late” and instead enjoying the earlier hours of gatherings with friends.  

Take advantage of the many early-morning offerings of the weekends – the best selection at the farmers market, early morning walks before the rest of the neighborhood is up and about, and beating the brunch crowd at the busiest restaurants in town.

3. Hit the Pavement (or the weight room, or the yoga studio)

Thought it takes a bit of time to see the impact, regular exercise can lead to a dramatic improvement in sleep. The key is consistency and sticking with it over time.

4. Create Your Own Zen.

Make sure both your bedroom and your bedtime routine are conducive to sleeping. To do that:

Get rid of anything in your bedroom that isn’t directly related to sleeping. This might mean relocating things like paperwork, electronics, random items that escaped from your home office, or your abandoned knitting project.

Check your lighting. There’s nothing less relaxing than bright, uninviting lighting. Make sure the bulbs in your bedroom lamps throw soft, low light. Consider fewer lamps and more candles.

Introduce a bit of chamomile and lavender. Research has found both to have calming properties which means they’re great before bed as a cup of tea or in a soothing eye pillow.

What techniques do you use to improve the quality of your sleep? Feel free to share your strategies in the comments!