Avoid Your ‘Second Wind’ For Better Quality Sleep

You get an early night, wake up at a reasonable hour and you still feel tired. Getting good-quality sleep is more than just going to bed at the right hour — how you drift off and what you do while in bed can affect how you are the next day. So, here are a few tips you can try to wake up feeling more refreshed.

Image: planetchopstick / Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0

In this 45-second clip, author Gretchen Rubin highlights four less-known approaches to getting a good night’s sleep. One of particular interest is the “second wind” or that burst of energy you get when you push on after feeling tired. It sounds like a good thing and can be when you need to get work done, but when you’re trying to sleep, it’s highly undesirable.

Rubin explains that a second wind can be triggered when you engage your brain when you shouldn’t — say concentrating on a book or ruminating over emails when your head hits the pillow. Before you know it, you’re suddenly alert and sleep is harder to nail down.

The best thing you can do is avoid all distractions — electronic or otherwise — when you get under the covers. The less things there are for your mind to contemplate, the better.

For the rest of the tips, hit up the video above.

The 30-Second Guide to Getting More Sleep (and Wanting to Wake Up for Work) [The Muse]