4 tips to help you fall asleep

Having a ritual before bed can train your body and mind to get ready for sleep. —dpa

It is important to get a good night’s rest. But actually falling asleep can be tricky.

Counteracting bad habits before heading to bed is not so difficult, but it does sometimes requires self-discipline.

After a long day, you’re finally ready to lie down. Yet, even though all you want to do is sleep, you can’t stop tossing and turning for what feels like forever. Here are four tips that can help:

Exercise: Breaking a sweat is good – as long as it’s not too late. According to the German Institute for Occupational Health Consulting, exercise helps you sleep. However, if you work out shortly before you want to go to bed, you will be too agitated. A good rule of thumb: Allow at least two hours between training and bedtime.

Rituals: Take a look outside your window for a couple of minutes: This is just one example of a ritual that you can perform before going to bed, which helps prepare your body for sleep.

Breathing exercises or a walk are also a possibility. However, you should avoid watching TV or other kinds of media consumption one hour before going to bed.

Sleep type: Sleep researchers distinguish between two types of sleepers, the larks and the owls. Larks go to bed earlier – and get up earlier.

Owls, on the other hand, tend to go to bed later, and advising them to get up early is often of little use. It’s actually better for them to go to bed late – but that’s often incompatible with work or school.

Your phone: If you are having trouble going to bed at all, because your smartphone keeps you up, set an alarm - not just for getting up, but for going to sleep as well.

If you are looking to go to sleep at 10pm, for example, set your alarm to this time, and you will be reminded that you didn’t want to scroll Instagram for several hours, but instead wanted to sleep. – dpa