Tips to Help You Fall Asleep Fast and Wake Up Ready To Go

Quality sleep is crucial for quality of life. Your natural internal clock, called the circadian rhythm, regulates a sleep-wake cycle and governs the physiological processes that repeat in the body during each 24-hour daily light cycle.

When your internal clock is calibrated properly through a good night’s sleep, you are equipped to conquer the day with focus and energy. Curating simple, consistent habits in your morning and evening routine can allow you to unlock the restorative power of quality sleep.

Why Does Sleep Hygiene Matter?

Sleep hygiene is a term for the set of daily habits and practices that affect the quality of our sleep. Irregular sleep schedules, overstimulation before bed, blue light exposure in the evening, and an unsupportive sleep environment throw your internal clock off balance. Research from the National Sleep Foundation highlights that consistent healthy sleep hygiene fosters deep, restful sleep, leading to strong physical performance, healthy cognitive function, and a balanced emotional state.

Poor sleep leaves us feeling dull, unfocused, and incapable of handling the day’s challenges. By prioritizing sleep hygiene, you set the stage for better days, resilience, focus and long-term vitality.

Tips for Falling Asleep Faster

That deep, regenerative sleep you need to thrive is within reach. Curating a framework of consistent behaviors and habits can improve sleep quality and help you to fall asleep quickly and wake up feeling nourished and energized.

Set a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Your body thrives on consistency and routine. A predictable sleep schedule regulates your circadian rhythm– your body’s internal clock– to ensure you feel sleepy and awake at the appropriate times. The easiest way to support your body’s natural rhythms is by sleeping and waking up at the same time every day– including on weekends. If sticking to a schedule feels challenging, use sleep tracking apps like Sleep Cycle and Pillow. Make small, gradual adjustments to your sleeping and waking time to incrementally adapt your body to the new schedule.

Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment

Optimize your environment to optimize your sleep. Make your room a sanctuary for rest and comfort and your body will get the message that it’s time to sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.

Maintain a temperature of around 65°F to support your body’s natural thermoregulation. An environment that is too warm or too cold triggers the body into a wakeful state.
Use red light bulbs, or a cheap reptile/ chicken brooder lamp that provides near-infrared and red frequencies of light that help signal the body to produce melatonin. Curating a healthy light in our environment is one of the most powerful ways to improve sleep quality.
Use blackout curtains or an eye mask to block disruptive light and optimize melatonin production. You want that sleep environment as dark as possible.
Drown out unwanted sounds with a fan or a white noise machine to create a calming soundscape that drowns out distracting and agitating auditory distractions from outside.
Set up an aromatherapy diffuser with lavender oil or other calming scents to promote a soothing atmosphere and encourage deep relaxation.

Limit Screen Time Before Bed

Blue light exposure from phones, tablets, laptops, and artificial lights (especially the LED’s so popular today) suppresses natural melatonin production– the essential hormone responsible for regulating sleep, and signals the body to produce cortisol, which promotes a wakeful, alert state. Prevent this by avoiding screen time for at least an hour before bed.

Swap out those blue light-emitting LED lights in the house for classic incandescent bulbs which also emit red and infrared frequencies of light, or even better– red bulbs. Also, instead of scrolling on social media, spend some time reading, journaling or listening to music. If using screens is unavoidable, try blue-light blocking glasses, which reduce the harmful effects of screen exposure.

Unwind and Relax Before Sleeping

Intentional relaxation is essential to transition your body and mind from the busyness of the day to the stillness of sleep. You can try progressive muscle relaxation, which involves tensing individual muscle groups one at a time, for a few seconds each– starting at your toes– before slowly releasing the tension and relaxing into your body. Another helpful technique is breathwork, like the 4-7-8 breathing method to calm your nervous system and relax your body:

Inhale for four seconds;
Hold your breath for seven seconds;
Exhale for eight seconds.

Avoid high-intensity exercise in the evenings as the body produces hormones that promote wakefulness and alertness for several hours after strenuous workouts. Try to get your workout in at least 2-3 hours before bedtime.

Tips for Waking Up Ready to Go

With thoughtful habits and small adjustments to your evening and morning routine, you can set the tone for an energetic and productive day. Your daily practices can significantly affect how you wake up in the morning.

Avoid Heavy Meals and Stimulants Late in the Evening

What you eat in the hours leading to your bedtime heavily impacts sleep quality. Heavy meals right before sleep can cause discomfort and slow digestion, making it harder to fall asleep. Similarly, stimulants affect the body for hours, interfering with your natural wind-down process. Aim to get in the last meal of the day at least 3 hours before bedtime so the body has time to process and digest.

Get Morning Sunlight Exposure

Natural light is a powerful tool to regulate your circadian rhythm. Exposure to sunlight in the morning stimulates healthy hormone production, improving mood and helping your body adjust to a consistent sleep-wake cycle. Spend 10-15 minutes in the sun each morning– on a short walk outside, sipping your morning drink on a balcony or even sitting near a sunny window.

If you live in a temperate country, consider investing in a light therapy lamp to stimulate the benefits of sunlight during the darker, winter months. Getting natural sunlight on the eyes and skin during the day and avoiding artificial blue light in the evenings is a major game changer for sleep quality.

Stimulate your Body Early

Ease into your day with gentle activity to shake off any drowsiness. Activities like stretching or a short walk get your blood flowing and boost energy without overwhelming your body. You can pair this movement with other things you enjoy like listening to music or your favorite podcast.

Enjoying a nice cup of coffee an hour or so after waking up improves focus and energy levels, providing vital energy when we need it most. Enjoy your caffeine in the morning, rather than the evening, with an energizing scoop of Choq’s Chad Mode with natural organic green coffee bean extract and B vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and circulation boosting ingredients like L-Citrulline which support a long-lasting well-rounded caffeine boost.

Support Healthy Stress Response with Adaptogens

Adaptogens are potent natural plant compounds used traditionally for thousands of years to support energy and resilience:

Ashwagandha: Prized for its ability to reduce cortisol, while also improving stamina and concentration.
Rhodiola: Boosts mental clarity and physical performance, as well as reduce fatigue, a key component in Choq’s Action 2.0, a formulation designed to provide healthy mood, focus, and circulation.
Ginseng: A component in Choq’s world-class immuno-adaptogen, Armor, provides long-lasting energy by regulating your body’s stress response and sharpens cognitive function.

Sleep Well for a Productive Day

Quality sleep isn’t a luxury– it is the cornerstone of a vibrant, productive life. By prioritizing consistency and creating an environment conducive to sleep, you can transform how you rest and recharge. Your journey to better rest starts with small, intentional steps- you deserve to feel your best and perform to your full potential every day.

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The contents of this article, made available via Choq, are for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. The content presented here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or dietary changes. Reliance on any information provided by this article is solely at your own risk.