7 simple steps to sleep better naturally

We’ve all been there. You’re lying in bed, feeling exhausted and wanting desperately to get to sleep but your mind’s racing with thoughts about the day and your body won’t relax, shut down or let you get to sleep.

Or you’re awake at 3am, knowing you need more sleep but unable to stop compiling tomorrow’s to-do list and feeling more anxious as the clock ticks towards dawn. You drag yourself out of bed in the morning, feeling terrible, tired and worried about how you’re going to get everything done today. It's frustrating and exhausting.

If you've been struggling with insomnia for a while, you've probably tried every cure – from lavender eye masks to sleeping pills. And if you’re reading this, those sleep remedies probably haven’t worked well enough.

Making a few changes to your evening routine so you can unwind fully before bed, and fall asleep quickly and easily. You wake, yet you feel relaxed when that happens because you've got the tools and techniques to manage and recharge your energy during the day - no matter how busy you are might feel like a distant reality... but you can have sleep like this.

To create real change in your sleeping patterns using natural remedies, a longer term view is the way forwards. In this blog, I'm going to share 7 simple steps you can try to help you get to sleep, and stay there without resorting to medication.

The process of improving your sleep

Sleeping better is a gradual process you can split into three distinct phases.

Firstly, you need to find out what the root cause of you not sleeping is and why. Then learning how to address that issue using tools and resources that support your body so you can create high quality sleep that will nourish you.

Next you need to make small changes gradually over a period of time, so the changes are sustainable for you to keep up with.

Finally, you observe and reflect on the tools and figure out what works for you so you can land on a personal set of sleep routines and tools to take you through the rest of your life.

The 7 steps to sleeping better:

Here is an overview of the 7 steps to improving your sleep.

Know that you can work with your body and mind to get better sleep

It can be a real comfort to know that it is possible to recover and improve your sleep, even if you're in a phase where you are struggling to get to or stay asleep. That reassurance can take a lot of stress and worry off your plate mentally, and allow you to start to lighten the load and relax - one thing that will start to improve the situation immediately.

Get a handle on what’s wrecking your rest to eliminate those rest wreckers from your day (daily habits + sleep log)

Research is your friend - take some time to note on the days you've had issues sleeping:

What has happened in the day? Has your routine been different?

Was there something on your mind?

How much sleep are you typically getting on a 'good' day? What about on a 'bad' day?

All of these things can be considered "rest wreckers" and when you have a diary of what is happening you can identify where the patterns are, then adjust what you are doing for the better.

Pull tension out of your body when it’s time to sleep (yoga poses, feedback body to brain)

Develop a pre-bed routine that starts to signal to your body that it is time to start relaxing, and getting ready for sleep. The Sleep Recovery Simple Sleep Sequence (LINK) offers some feel-good options for releasing tension from your body. You can do some simple stretches on your living room floor, on your bed, or anywhere that's convenient for your bedtime routine.

Manage your energy – like a solar panel – so you’re tired and awake at the right times (circadian rhythms + how they affect us)

You can start to time your exercise, work and general meal times in a way that lets your body follow waking and resting patterns that human beings have evolved over millennia. Did you know that taking a short rest during the day, of even five to ten minutes, can prevent your body from amping up stress hormones and help to repair your sleep at night? Sure, a mid-morning coffee is a great pick-me up, but a mid-afternoon rest is even better. You'll have more headspace for prioritising, more calm, and a better ability to rest at night. Check out the blog for mid-day rest resources.

Re-train your brain in how to rest (taking you out of hyper vigilance mode, creating new brainwave patterns)

A pro-tip for those with harder-to-shift sleep disturbances and busy lives is to learn how to let your mind release its grip on thinking. This does not mean trying to force yourself to not-think. Good luck with that! Sleep Recovery offers a very simple, app-free meditation technique that is based on nearly 50 years of research into the effects of transcendental meditation. There is nothing to download, and nothing to buy. All you do is carve out the same time daily to let your mind wander, then bring it back to a simple sound, then wander again. For up to 20 minutes morning and afternoon. This is a total game-changer for those with high pressure lives: during the day your nervous system learns to down-regulate, your mental inbox starts to de-clutter, and you become more rest-ready.

Sort through the stuff that ‘keeps you awake at night’ with some simple techniques during the day, so you can rest assured later.

It can be as simple as doing a post-work or post dinner brain dump onto a piece of paper, into a journal or even into a voice note. Having a place to 'set down the day'

There is an overview of the 7 simple steps to start improving your sleep naturally.

If you'd like some help improving your sleep, you can find a registered Sleep Recovery™ practitioner by clicking here, or you purchase Sleep Recovery: The five step yoga solution to restore your rest by clicking here.

By Lisa Sanfilippo

Lisa Sanfilippo is the author of two books, Sleep Recovery and Yoga Therapy for Insomnia and Sleep Recovery which draw upon her own experiences of all manner of sleepless nights, extensive research and work with students and clients over nearly 20 years as a yoga teacher, and more recently as a psychotherapist. She maintains a private therapy practice and teaches public classes.

Lisa creates continuing professional development courses for yoga teachers, therapists, wellbeing and medical professionals including Sleep Recovery and yoga therapy modules with Yogacampus.