Getting a great night’s sleep isn’t as simple as just going to bed early. You need to give your body some time to wind down and understand that it’s time to relax. That means you need a pre-bed Sleep Ritual.

A Sleep Ritual calms you, tells your body that it’s switching gears, and boosts levels of soothing chemicals in your brain.

Here are some of our recommendations for Cutting The Stimulation.

Rule #1: No Screens Before Bed

We don’t like to make many rules. But this is an important one. No TV, computer, cell phone, video games, or any other electronic device with a light-up screen in the 30-60 min before bed.

Our body clocks are very sensitive to light. The light from the screens disrupts your normal pattern of sleepiness. And the stimulation of TV shows, video games, work emails, or Facebook drama keeps your brain humming when it should be relaxing. Get the TV and computer out of the bedroom. Grab a good relaxing book instead.

Go Dark

Our body clocks depend on regular cycles of light and dark. Lower light levels tell our bodies and brains that it’s time to shut down and produce calming chemicals.

After dinner, start lowering the light levels in your home. In the 30-60 minutes before bed, dim the lights as much as possible. You can even try doing things by candlelight for the last half hour – a surefire way to knock yourself out. (But don’t forget to blow out the candles first!)

Make sure your bedroom is as dark and quiet as possible. Cover up the light from electronics and get good blinds or drapes that don’t let ambient light in.

Brain Dump

Often, what keeps us awake at night is our “busy brain”. The Buddhists call this “monkey mind” – it leaps around like a mischievous monkey. We’re worrying, planning, fretting, ruminating … doing anything but calming down and drifting off. In part, this comes from trying to remember everything we need to do and think about.

Half of our brain is worried about what we’re worrying about and the other half is worried about forgetting all that stuff.

We keep refreshing it so that it stays current.

Instead, outsource this job to a piece of paper or a notebook. An hour or so before bed, do a 5-10 minute “brain dump”. Write down everything you might need to remember; everything you’re thinking about; everything that worries you – whatever is in your head. Get it all out there on paper.

Then, go to sleep reassured that it’ll all be there in the morning.

White Noise & Blessed Silence

Many folks are disturbed by small noises – distant traffic, the creaking of an old house, etc. And our brains are tuned to notice novelty and interruptions (after all, a million years ago, a rustle in the night might have meant bad news). White noise from a humidifier or fan in the bedroom can help “smooth out” these little disruptions.

If white noise isn’t cutting it, try some earplugs. Especially helpful for folks whose partners snore!