If you go to bed uptight, it will be harder to get a restful sleep. Unwind and relax before your bedtime with a meditation or calming yoga routine so you can release all of the weight of the day and have a good night’s sleep. The FREE video below will help ensure that you rest soundly. Want the entire routine? You can find buy it here.. 

Getting a good night’s sleep means much more than just catching up on your beauty rest. If you cheat yourself out of a long slumber, you’re setting yourself up for unhealthy consequences afterward.

Occasionally falling short of the seven to nine hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation won’t really affect you, right?

Wrong. When your regular sleep pattern is less than the recommended amount, it can compromise your immune system causing symptoms like irritability, depression, and a lackluster demeanor due to your body releasing stress hormones.

Sleep deprivation creates an imbalance of ghrelin and leptin, the hormones responsible for alerting your body when you’re hungry or full. So when you’re sleep deprived, not only are you tired but also you’re also prone to overeating.

People often respond to tiredness by consuming caffeine or sugar. While both may give you a noticeable burst of energy, the downside is a big drop in energy shortly after. When that happens, people reach for the caffeine and sugar again and this reoccurring cycle throughout the day can leave you even more fatigued than when you started your day.

So what do you do? Well, it’s not as hard as you may think.

You’re probably familiar with the terms larks and owls, and probably know someone (maybe even yourself) who fits the classic description of a morning or night person. Truth is, though, most of us are not extreme larks or owls, but fall somewhere in the middle. If left to our natural rhythm, we tend to rise somewhere between 7 and 8 a.m., get sleepy around ten at night, and fall asleep by midnight, with variations of up to an hour or two either way.

More important is the fact that, whatever hours we keep, we tend to follow a consistent pattern of energy and bodily function over the course of the day. This inner clock is governed by chemical processes in the human body that synchronize themselves to the light–dark cycle of the environment. Coming to terms with your cycle will help you in everything you do.

Knowing and, more importantly, respecting your body’s daily energy map is a great way to make yourself feel full of vitality, more productive, improve the effectiveness of exercise, reduce the likelihood of accidents, improve your sexual performance, and, in general, increase your enjoyment of life.

You don’t need to accept waking up in the early hours of the morning, unable to go back to sleep. It isn’t “normal.” I don’t want you to feel “Okay.” I want you to revitalized, full of energy, and able to lose unwanted pounds.

So how do you get a good night’s sleep? Here are 5 tips that have worked for thousands of women, and they work for me too:

1. Moderate Aerobic Activity

Studies have shown that if you incorporate moderate aerobic activity into your schedule four times a week, you will sleep better…and BOOST your energy levels! The key is to time your workout earlier in the day so you aren’t stimulated with energy before you prepare for sleep. Working out earlier in the day will help calm your body and mind for a restful night.

2. Disconnect From Electronics

Disconnecting before you go to bed helps increase your melatonin levels (the sleep hormone). Around 7 pm, turn off your electronics, stop answering emails, and start to unwind.

3. Pamper Yourself

This is my favorite tip…and will probably be yours too 🙂 Before you slip into your sheets, treat yourself like a newborn baby. Take a warm bath, lather on your favorite cream or lotion, and play relaxing music. Make it a ritual…just like brushing your teeth!

4. Set A Schedule And Stick To It!

It’s easy to run on a perfectly-timed schedule all week long, and then stay up late on the weekend. The problem with this is that staying up late on the weekends (or any day) throws off your sleep cycle for the week ahead.

5. Cut Down On Caffeine 8 Hours In Advance

This is a big one! Caffeine can come from coffee, green tea, sodas and even chocolate! You want to be conscious to cut the caffeine eight hours before your bedtime. This will allow you to relax into the night.

These six tips, will have a huge impact on your life, your sleep, your energy, and even your weight.