Rest! Top 5 New Years Resolutions to Get More and Better Sleep

1) The Caffeine Curfew Resolution

We all have our own relationship with caffeine.

For some of us it is a helpful friend that perks us up in the morning, or gives us an extra shot of alertness in the afternoon every once in a while. For others, it’s not so much a friend. It can induce or exacerbate anxiety, and upset the stomach. And finally there are those of us who are knocking back cups of coffee all day.

Whatever your caffeine style might be, this nifty little chemical can play a big role in your sleep health. Caffeine can reduce SWS and REM sleep, and can delay the onset of sleep altogether.

Caffeine can create a tricky vicious cycle. If consumed in high quantities or close to bedtime, it can ruin sleep. The next day the sleepyhead is likely to consume more caffeine to address the symptoms of fatigue.

Caffeine may be affecting you more than you think. If you are having trouble sleeping or even just want to get better sleep than you already do, consider reducing caffeine intake.

Even if you don’t think you have much caffeine, remember that everyone’s body is different. One cup in the morning might be affecting your body just as much as four cups affect someone else’s.

Start modestly. Quitting caffeine cold turkey can lead to a miserable few days, and your goal here after all is rest. So try instituting a caffeine curfew: a time of day past which you consume no caffeine. The earlier the better.

I resolve to give myself a time of day past which I consume no caffeine. I resolve to keep this up until I see improvement or I rule out caffeine as a culprit.

2) The No Screens in Bed Resolution

I hate to be a buzzkill, but I’ve got to say it: screens and sleep don’t mix. Light is melatonin’s kryptonite, and shining a light directly into your eyeballs… well clearly that’s not going to help, right?

And if you are on your laptop while physically in your bed, then you’re going to associate your bed with mental activity, entertainment, and light. All of which are antithetical to sleep and rest.

If possible, get all screens out of your bedroom. Keep them to the living room or the office, which are designated spaces in your home for entertainment and work.

Apart from the difficulty involved in going from from screen-based stimulation directly to sleep, blue light itself is a culprit. Young people are especially vulnerable to this, according to an article published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Teens that spent at least four hours a day looking at screens tripled their risk of sleep deprivation.

Whether this is correlation or causation, it is still good evidence that screens and sleep don’t mix. So if you are willing to take it even one step further than simply banishing screens from the bedroom, consider limiting your screen time in general. Believe me, I know that this may not be feasible for you depending on your work situation. During quarantine, I taught online and racked up at least eight hours a day in front of the computer.

But don’t make perfect the enemy of good. Reduce screen time however much you can, even if it is a very modest decrease. Any less is better.

I resolve to avoid looking at screens anywhere within ten feet of my bed, and any time earlier than a half hour before sleep.

3) The Create A Restful Environment Resolution

This one is related to banishing screens from the bedroom.

Create a “sleep sanctuary.” Make your bedroom the sleepiest place ever. Fill it with dark, warm colors, tending toward red rather than blue. Put a lot of soft fabrics in it, flowing drapes and copious bedsheets. Make sure it’s just the right temperature. Get a bookcase and fill it with books (I’m assuming, since you are reading a random Vocal article, that books must play at least some kind of role in your life).

Basically make the sort of place that you would want to sleep in, in theory, and then sleep in it in practice.

Now that you’ve created your sleep sanctuary, you have to treat it with respect. Only retire to your sanctuary when you need to rest. Whether a full night’s sleep, or a nap, or just a bit of a lie-down, if you only go to your bedroom when you are specifically and mindfully attempting to rest, then this is what you’ll associate that space with.

On the other hand, if you are someone who suffers from insomnia that is causing you some stress and anxiety, I might avoid this last suggestion or at least talk to your sleep doctor about it. I say this because if you only go to your bedroom to sleep, but sleep is a source of stress for you, then you might risk associating your bedroom with stress, which doesn’t sound fun at all.

So please adapt this suggestion to your own needs and taste. A sleep sanctuary for you will probably look very different than a sleep sanctuary for me. I might have a huge beanbag chair and a bunch of stuffed animals; you might not.

The crux here is that you are building a space for yourself that will feel like your own. You’re taking some control of your situation, restoring a little confidence in your resting abilities, and creating a sleepy space that you will like to be in.

I resolve to create a bedroom that I will like to be in.

4) The Get More Physical Activity Resolution

I think we have this basic idea that simply getting through our day should be sufficient to make us tired enough for bed. But if your job promotes a sedentary lifestyle, and if you aren’t doing some high-octane focusing for long periods of time, you may have trouble sleeping simply from lack of activity.

Let me frame this positively instead of negatively: physical activity promotes sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, getting enough exercise during the day can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep. Also, exercise makes you healthier overall and can decrease your risk for obesity which is one of the most common culprits of a poor night’s sleep.

Maybe you are not someone whose lifestyle makes it easy to fit in exercise. Or maybe exercise has just never been part of your family’s culture. In these cases, starting exercising can be intimidating.

Believe me, I know. I was an overweight teenager and absolutely hated exercising around other people. I always felt like people were staring at me, judging me, remarking to themselves “What does that chubby kid think he’s doing? He’s not allowed to exercise!”

My personal solution was to take my dog on early morning runs. During the post-sunrise hours when really the only people out are too sleepy or too peaceful to know or care or judge what I’m doing, I took Molly the poodle out for just one lap around the block. Next week, two laps. My goal was losing weight, but my exercise had the happy effect of improving my sleep as well!

Best of luck on your exercise journey. And remember: exercise isn’t supposed to be easy. But you can do it.

I resolve to break a sweat at least four times a week.

5) The Sleep Ritual Resolution

The power of ritual is beyond question. All human societies and cultures practice them. We can direct the power of ritual to sleep with some surprisingly effective results.

“Sleep ritual” is basically a fancy term for preparing for bed. Cause yeah, who’d have thunk it: taking some time to prepare yourself for sleep helps promote sleep. We have tended to lose sight of this simple truth.

During the day we move from task to task with little recalibration and preparation, so it can be tempting to shut off your computer screen and then immediately hit the light and get under the covers.

But tonight, instead of flinging yourself headlong into bed and expecting your body to like, insta-sleep, designate 30 minutes of prep-time. Fill this time with at least four rituals that will help you get ready.

Here’s mine:

1. Make a cup of tea. Unfortunately I don’t like most herbal teas so this is out of the question for me. I tend to go for kuki-cha, a very low-caffeine green tea. Sip it gently.
2. Turn on floor fan, get in pajamas, and count to twenty. This twenty-count is just a kind of very informal meditation. Just trying to take a moment to slow my brain down a bit.
3. Read. I love to read, so this is a pleasure. I read basically as much as I can before I can’t keep my eyes open. SOmetimes this is five minutes, sometimes (too rarely) three hours.
4. Retrieve Bartleby. That’s my cat. I find wherever he is in the room, and gently pick him up. This is part of his sleep ritual too. He knows what’s coming. I carry him to the light, shut it off, and together we plunk down in bed.

And the rest is slumber.

I resolve to prepare my body for sleep, just as I prepare it to meet the morning.