How did you sleep last night? Did you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day, or did you wake up feeling as though you didn’t sleep at all? If you’re noticing a pattern of not sleeping well, it’s time to take a closer look at things...

While the occasional restless night can be expected, you should ideally be getting consistently good sleep each night. One of the best ways to ensure this happens is to prioritize and regularly practice good sleep habits. Here are five tips for your healthiest sleep ever.

1. Refresh Your Bedroom
Your sleeping environment is incredibly influential on the overall quality of rest you get. Doing all you can to make it as comfortable as possible is a must.

Pay attention to things such as the temperature, your mattress thickness, and potential allergens. This could look like adjusting your thermostat, purchasing a new mattress and bedding, or removing the wall-to-wall carpeting that could be the root cause of your allergy symptoms.

2. Tweak Your Wind-Down Routine
Do you have a routine for getting yourself ready for bed? If not, you should. Routines are essential to both healthier sleep and waking up feeling refreshed.

Think about making simple tweaks such as setting limits for blue light exposure or eliminating afternoon caffeine. Taking a warm, relaxing bath, reading a good book, or sipping a cup of chamomile tea could be just what your mind and body need to wind down from a busy day.

3. Try Meditation
When you think about meditation, you might envision something complicated or time-consuming. However, meditation doesn’t have to be that way.

Whether it’s laying still and diffusing calming essential oils, journaling your thoughts, or going through a soothing yoga sequence, there are many ways you can center and balance yourself before sleep.

Meditation gets easier and feels more natural the more you do it, so keep at it.

4. Get on a Sleep Schedule
Have you ever stopped to think about how babies and children thrive when on a regular sleep schedule? Adults do, too. Everyone needs sleep and once the body’s circadian rhythm is honored and established, healthy sleep will be waiting.

Getting yourself on a schedule shouldn’t take long, you just need to be consistent and intentional. This includes paying attention to factors such as your exposure to artificial lighting after a certain time, when you eat your last meal of the evening, and what time you need to get moving the next morning.

5. Have a Backup Plan
No matter how intentional you are with working towards healthier sleep, you’re going to run into a night here or there when sleeping just isn’t in the cards. While this can be frustrating, sometimes there’s not much you can do.

Perhaps you’ve had an extremely stressful day or are feeling anxious about something. Did you know that tossing and turning and trying to force yourself to sleep can actually make things worse? If you’re noticing that sleep isn’t coming naturally, remove yourself from the situation entirely. Once you’re feeling more relaxed, try again.

Sleep aids are also wonderful in this situation. Try homeopathic remedies to start with, such as valerian, magnesium, melatonin, or CBD. These are non-habit forming and often very effective. Sipping on warmed milk can also be very soothing.

If you’re waking up in the mornings feeling less than your best, it’s time to make some changes. There are so many things you can do to achieve healthier sleep, many of which shouldn’t require too much effort on your part. With a little diligence and willpower, you’ll be there in no time.