5 tips for improving your sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is a big key to recovering well from your run training. If you get to bed at a good hour, if you sleep soundly and stay down for the recommended seven to nine hours, you’ll see the benefits in your performance. It’s easier said than done, of course, and unfortunately, sleep is hard to come by for a lot of people. If you’re one of the runners out there who could use better sleep, try these few tips to help work your way into a proper bedtime routine. 

Stick to a schedule 

A great way to make sure you’re tired when it’s time to go to bed is to stick to a regular daily schedule. Fit your workouts in (at whatever time of day), get up at a good hour (don’t hit the snooze button five times before you finally get out of bed) and try to get through all of your daily tasks for work or school.

If you can get through every day ticking the various items off of your to-do list on time, you won’t find yourself sitting at home at 9 p.m. and realizing that you still need to go for your run, send off some emails or do anything else you meant to do earlier in the day. That will free you up, both physically and mentally, to wind down ahead of your bedtime. 

No screens before bed 

We get it, it’s so easy to stare at a screen watching your favourite show or scrolling through Instagram for hours on end. Everyone is guilty of using their phone or laptop way past their bedtime, and limiting your screen time before getting some shuteye is one of the best ways to improve your sleep. It’s not even just the act of looking at your phone that can ruin your sleep, as many studies have shown that screen time before bed will continue to affect your brain long after you put your phone or laptop away. 

Staring at a screen before bed can stimulate your brain so much that even if you do drift off, you’re not going to get that high-quality sleep that everyone craves. With that in mind, it’s time to put your phone, laptop and other screens away (turning them off may be the best options, just so you’re not tempted to peek at them again) at least 30 minutes before you plan to sleep. Instead, try reading before bed. You may not think it’s as fun as scrolling TikTok, but it’s much better for you. 

Limit your caffeine 

Caffeine is a great way to boost your energy in the morning before work or a run, but the later it gets in the day, the more your iced latte is going to affect your sleep. Try limiting your caffeine intake in the afternoon, and especially avoid it in the evening. Give your body as much time as possible to work through the caffeine before you lay your head down for the night. Your sleep will improve because of it. 

Time your meals 

This goes back to the matter of scheduling. Try your best to eat your meals (or at least dinner) at a reasonable time. Cramming supper into your schedule in the late evening is only going to keep you awake longer than you want to be. Of course, if you have to eat late, do it (a late meal is better than a missed one), but if you can avoid it, try to eat dinner a few hours before you plan to go to bed. 

Ditch the tracker

This is very subjective, and while sleep trackers work well for some people, others can get sleep anxiety from them. The fact that your watch is monitoring and scoring your sleep could be weighing on you mentally, which will effectively keep you up longer. This starts a vicious cycle, as your watch will proceed to tell you that you need to sleep better, putting more pressure on you to fall asleep at a good hour and making that even more difficult. If you find that sleeping with a tracker works for you, great, but if you’re struggling to get solid sleep, ditching your watch may be a good thing to try. (It’s important to note also that sleep trackers vary widely in accuracy.)