How to Stop Waking up Tired

7 things to do before bed to maximize sleep.

To paraphrase an idea I heard on The Tim Ferriss Show, a successful morning routine starts the night before — with your nighttime routine.

If you aren’t familiar with Tim Ferriss, his successful podcast is my go-to for productivity hacks. He questions high performers in all areas; technology experts, writers, nutritionists, foodies, health experts, scientists, CEOs, and podcasters. He questions his guests on their routines and teases out their habits. They almost always have a morning routine that starts the night before.

To awake feeling energized and ready to crush the day, you need to get uninterrupted sleep.

If you wake up feeling sluggish and tired, it is a clue you aren’t getting restful sleep. Maybe you stay up too late, or you toss and turn all night, or you wake from anxiety at 2:00 am. Having a ritualistic nighttime routine can solve some of these issues and allow you to wake rested and ready to conquer your day.

A solid nighttime routine can help your body and mind calm before you go to bed and keep you asleep longer.

I rarely wake in the middle of the night, and I drift off to sleep every night within 15 minutes of putting my head down on the pillow.

Establish a bedtime routine

Maintain consistent hours when you go to sleep and when you wake — even on the weekends.

Go to bed at the same time every night and try to wake up at the same time every morning to maintain normal circadian rhythm.

Your bedroom is your sacred sleeping place, used for sleep, sex, and reading. A dark, cool room is optimal, as is seeing sunlight upon waking; both help maintain sleep continuity and aid in staying asleep.

Shortly after waking, try to get some sunlight, open the shades, or go for a walk without your sunglasses. Your eyes need to have direct sunlight in the morning; this will help keep you alert throughout the day.

Our bodies follow a natural circadian rhythm, and light has the strongest effect on this biological clock.

Include rituals

My nighttime routine includes a couple of rituals.

Every night I have an apple cider vinegar drink. It’s easy to make and sends a signal to my mind and body that it is time to wind down for sleep.

Here is the recipe:

• Juice from one lemon, one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and one cup of hot water.

As soon as I turn on the kettle to boil water around 7:50 pm, my body feels tired, and my mind starts to turn off. By 8:00 pm I’m in bed with my drink and a book. By 9:00 pm, I’m out like a light.

If 9:00 is too early for you, make it ten or 11:00 and then adjust the wind down time accordingly.

This hour before I turn out the lights, when I’m reading in my bed with a favorite book and sipping my warm drink is one I look forward to. It is the most relaxing time of my day. Reading is meditative and calming, the hypnotic act of moving your eyes across a page lulls you to sleep.

I don’t read from a screen, this would defeat the whole purpose

Ditch the phone

No blue light (screens of any kind) one to two hours before bed.

It is not healthy to sleep in the same room with your phone. First off, studies have shown that even when the phone is shut off and sitting next to us, we still have the impulse to check it. If your phone is a couple of rooms away, your desire to check notifications will not be as strong.

Second, the blue light emitted by screens on cell phones, computers, tablets, and televisions restrain the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep/wake cycle or circadian rhythm. Reducing melatonin makes it harder to fall and stay asleep.

Make and keep boundaries with your smartphone. Your sleep will improve, as will your relationships.

Drink caffeine way before sleep

I’m pro-caffeine.

Just like my nighttime apple cider drink, I like to start the day with something hot that has caffeine in it. Espresso! It is a ritual that brings me great joy and happiness. I love the way it tastes, it’s warm, and since I don’t indulge in other foods that aren’t good for me throughout the day, a regular caffeinated beverage is my treat, as is alcohol in moderation.

Drink caffeine, but do it sparingly and stop five to six hours before bed. Caffeine is a stimulant and stays active in the body for roughly six hours. To make sure it doesn’t interfere with sleep, I stop drinking it by 10:00 am.

Caffeine blocks the chemical adenosine, which makes us feel sleepy. So, a shot of espresso in the morning can have useful altering properties.

However, too much caffeine can have the opposite effect and cause sleepiness.

Often when I have too much caffeine, I want to take a nap in the afternoon. There’s nothing wrong with napping, but if you nap too close to bedtime, it could interfere with your nighttime sleep.

Experiment and see how much caffeine is right for you. Or try green tea. Green tea has a little less caffeine per cup than coffee, thus, green tea doesn’t make me as jittery as the caffeine from espresso or coffee.

Get rid of the alarm clock

I haven’t used an alarm clock in decades. It is so freeing. I do not like to be jolted awake in the morning by beeps, buzzing, and loud abrupt noises, or even a song that I like, it ruins the song forever.

I do have to get up at a specific time to take my child to school, and I wake up in time to do this. Now that I don’t have to drive her anywhere because of the recent pandemic, I still wake at the same time each morning, because I go to bed at the same time each night.

Include a fast

Don’t eat anything three hours before you go to bed, and try to avoid carbohydrates.

Food high in carbohydrates may lead to heartburn and bloating, which can cause discomfort and lead to disrupted sleep.

It is good to go to sleep on an empty stomach to give your body a chance to rest and just focus on healing. That’s what sleep is, healing to the body. The body slows down its functions before sleep, but consuming foods, especially those high in carbs, can make it harder to digest and result in unnecessary weight gain.

Fasting is great for your body, and a good time to do this is while you sleep.

According to Psychologytoday.com,

‘Research shows that eating heavily near bedtime can worsen sleep quality, making sleep more restless and less refreshing. The timing of meals also affects our circadian clocks and the functioning of circadian rhythms that exert a powerful influence over our sleep and health.’

Fasting at night can increase weight loss and promote a healthy metabolism. Some recommend a 12 to 15-hour fast. For a 12 hour fast, you could stop eating at 7:00 pm and resume eating at 7:00 am the next morning.

This works for me, but find the eating schedule that works for you — everyone is different.

Experiment and see what works.

Hydrate

Hydrate throughout the day, not right before bed. Go to bed hydrated.

Drinking water throughout the day is good for so many reasons. Lack of hydration makes you sluggish, irritable, and fatigued. Staying hydrated increases your energy levels, it’s great for your skin, and your internal organs.

At night, you lose fluids by merely breathing, even more so if you snore, have sleep apnea, or breathe through your mouth.

Instead of guzzling a few glasses of water before bed — this will only wake you up during the night when you have to use the bathroom — stay hydrated throughout the day.

I keep a bottle of water on my writing desk — with the cap on — and sip it all day while I write. I refill it about three times during the day.

Women need about 91 ounces of water daily, while men need about 125 ounces.

Reduce anxiety

I grind my teeth at night. Teeth clenching and grinding is more common in women. About 10% of adults either grind or clench their teeth during sleeping hours.

My dentist told me to massage my jaw before I go to bed. I do that. My massage therapist gave me a mantra to say while I fall asleep, ‘relax the jaw, mouth slightly open, relax the face, relax the neck, feeling at ease, falling asleep, feeling calm.’ As you are drifting off to sleep, you can repeat something calm while you close your eyes.

The mouthguard I wear protects my teeth but does nothing for the pain I feel in my jaw, neck, and shoulders from grinding. You have to ease anxiety — a tall order these days.

Write. One way to ease stress before going to bed is to write. Write down your worries, fears, or your ‘most important thing’ list for the following day. This works for me. As long as it is written somewhere, my mind no longer has to carry it.

James Pennebaker, a University of Texas professor, writes,

‘Since the mid-1980s an increasing number of studies have focused on the value of expressive writing as a way to bring about healing. The evidence is mounting that the act of writing about traumatic experiences for as little as fifteen or twenty minutes a day for three or four days can produce measurable changes in physical and mental health. Emotional writing can also affect people’s sleep habits, work efficiency, and how they connect with others.’

Exercise

Exercise, just not right before bed.

Excise makes my body feel relaxed, calm, and tired out. You know the feeling after a long hike or a tough workout. Your body is spent, but you have energy.

When I go to bed without getting daily exercise, I feel like my body has pent up energy that needs to go somewhere. And I feel restless. But when I exercise for an hour, even an hour walk around the neighborhood, my body is more ready for sleep.

You can jump-start your day by being active first thing in the morning, that will maintain your energy throughout the day.

Most studies show that regular exercise three to four times a week helps improve sleep. Exercise produces adrenaline, so it is best not to exercise too close to bedtime, and instead exercise in the morning or early afternoon.

Join my email list here.

Jessica is a writer, an online entrepreneur, and a recovering Type A personality. She lives in Los Angeles with her extrovert daughter, two dogs, and two cats.