How can I sleep better?

You could try getting dark “blackout” curtains. I would also get a this summer duvet as the one you have seems uncomfortably warm.

I had sleep problems, and a number of things helped:
Exercise more
Eat less and not at night
Drink less alcohol or no alcohol

In the winter I use a neti pot to flush out my sinuses, letting me breath better. In the warm months when I’m a lot more active it isn’t necessary.

Regarding the light, sleeping with a dark t-shirt or towel over my eyes is great. Total darkness.

And sometimes I just accept it and get up for a couple of hours and read, As long as I can sleep two hours before the alarm goes off, I’m OK. If I cover my eyes and breathe slowly I usually go out quickly.

How old are you?

@flutherother Considering it. I had blackout curtains for a few years and I loved them.

@Call_Me_Jay Thanks for the advice. I think I may do the same next time, just get up and read for a bit; I have done that before and was able to get a couple more hours of sleep that way.

@KNOWITALL I’m 27. Should’ve put that in there.

@Demosthenes Awfully young, I assumed you were over 40 with that sleep issue. Sorry.

It’s alright. I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night (usually to use the bathroom) since I was a little kid, but this trend of not being able to get back to sleep after doing so is a recent development. So I hope it can get back to normal.

You don’t describe your eating routine, or if you drink alcohol or other sweet drinks in the evening. If you get to th epoint where your blood glucose level spike after sleeping, your body can wake you up and make it difficult to get back to sleep.

Make sure you have NO lights in your room, not from a clock, not from a charge cord for a phone, not an “on” light for aTV or computer.

I don’t drink anything other than water in the evening; as for eating, in the past year I have been in a habit of eating late, I’ve been trying to stop eating around 5 hours before going to bed. I stick to that most days, but some days I lapse and eat something late (sometimes that’s hard to help when I work until 9 P.M.)

Go to a sleep clinic and find out. Sounds like apnea. You might need a cpap. Either way the clinic will help you out.

It’s so much cheaper and easier just to buy a black sleep mask. But I slept at my daughter’s house two years ago and she has black curtains and keeps it at 65 degrees at night all summer! I’ve not slept that well since I was a child.
Try not to ask a doctor about this. Sleeping pills can be nightmares that get you addicted. About 30% of people who take them find them worthless too.
I’ve actually found the best way to sleep well is to do yoga during the daytime.

Cooler is better.

I have tossed and turned for years. Where I would wake up four or five times during the night and start something on the tv and then fall asleep five minutes later. Rinse and repeat.

But I started going for 9PM bike rides a few months ago. I am lucky that I live right next to a long bike path so I can go bonkers for 30 minutes with only needing to cross one street.

Since I started the bike thing I have been sleeping through the night and wake up in good shape. Kinda worried what happens when the rain rolls around and it gets dark at 4:30PM. Might be time to buy a treadmill.

Hi Demosthenes,How old are you???

@Patty_Melt yes and cold is even better !

If you can fall asleep but then you get distracted very easily, it means that your mind is cluttered with thoughts and worries. To get a deeper sleep, you should change your routine. Instead of spending time in front of a screen, be it your TV, phone or tablet, play some background noise. You will train your brain to recognize that noise and enter a sleep state, that will encourage a better, deeper sleep during the night. You can try Sleep Automatic. That is what worked for me, but you can try others too. It’s important to choose an app that lets you play the sound sequence in the background instead of keeping the screen on. Blue light is the enemy of deep, linear sleep. Another option would be to practise sport before going to sleep. Tiring your body is one way to make sure you’ll sleep like a rock. Hope these tips help!