How to Get Better Sleep in Houston, TX: 6 Tips
If you’re wondering how to get better sleep in Houston, TX, you’re not alone. The city moves fast; you don’t want to struggle with poor sleep and excessive daytime sleepiness.
When sleep problems start impacting your quality of life in Houston, you aren’t just missing the grass growing; you’re missing out on a lot. This city will just pass you by.
You need to get enough sleep every night to keep up and give you the chance to really experience everything this beautiful city has to offer, day and night.
Unfortunately, Houston itself isn’t really set up for good sleep.
Why you might be struggling to sleep in Houston, TX
If you call Houston home, you probably already know why the city is set up for sleep problems and chronic insomnia. The first factor is the weather. Houston is hot and humid for a good part of the year, and both of these conditions are related to an increase in insomnia.
The warmer and stickier it is outside at bedtime, the higher the rates of insomnia. Which makes sense if you’ve been tossing and turning all summer.
This city also has a reputation for going hard. We put a lot of effort into everything we do here, and that can put a lot of pressure and stress on each individual to keep up.
That pressure turns into nighttime anxiety or insomnia, which interferes with getting enough sleep as well as good quality sleep.
So we’ve talked about the demanding work culture, and on top of that, Houston is a big city, which means that most people have a long commute on top of working long hours. This can interfere with sleep as well, because when you don’t have a lot of time, it’s hard to wind down enough to get restorative sleep.
With everything moving so quickly and everyone pushing so hard, sleep is essential. So let’s talk about how to get better sleep to keep up with the pace.
How to sleep better
If you’ve been struggling to get quality sleep, the first step is to try these sleep hygiene basics and lifestyle changes. They might not be the whole fix, but they’ll probably get you started in the right direction.
Create a helpful sleep environment
Houston is close to the equator as far as the US is concerned, which means it gets bright early. Start with getting blackout curtains so that the room is dark and you don’t get woken up too early. Or get a sleep mask.
Create a cool space to sleep in. It’s worth it to use the air conditioner year-round in Houston; it shouldn’t get warmer than 82 degrees when trying to sleep, and most people need it cooler to sleep well, especially if it’s humid outside.
Last but not least, lower the noise in the room and outside. Earplugs and white noise machines can be really helpful in controlling the noise if you live in a neighborhood that is noisy at night, helping to get more restful sleep.
Use technology limits
The blue light from screens like phones or even the television tells the brain that it’s still light outside and daytime. This makes sleep very hard to get.
The gold standard is to stop using screens two hours before bed. This can be really difficult for most people, especially if they get home from a long commute two hours before bed. Try at least to turn off devices at least 60 to 90 minutes before bed, as this will still make a difference.
During this tech-free time, do something that is genuinely restful. Some examples are reading, light stretching, or chatting.
If this is still too hard, at least turn the blue light blocking setting on on the phone.
Build a sleep routine
Building a sleep routine tells your body it's safe and it’s time for sleep. This routine includes a consistent sleep schedule of going to bed and waking up at the same time every night, even on weekends.
But that’s not all.
Create a regular bedtime routine of activities to do before bed as consistently as possible. For some people, this routine is quite extensive, including a two-hour wind-down with lots of stretching and meditation. For other people, it’s short and sweet, like getting into your pajamas, brushing your teeth, and washing your face.
It really depends on the person, the important part is that it is the same thing every night. Make it something that can be done on vacation and in other environments than just at home. That way, the body can wind down when you’re not at home, too.
Limit alcohol and caffeine
Both alcohol and caffeine can cause sleep problems and make sleep disturbances worse. Caffeine wakes you up, but the effect can last up to 6-8 hours. This means it’s important to stop drinking caffeine early in the day.
It’s also important to limit alcohol intake. Alcohol tricks might help get to sleep, as it makes a person sleepy. But the way it is processed in the body causes the person to then wake up in a couple of hours and struggle for the rest of the night.
Exercise regularly at the right time
Getting regular exercise helps you to get good quality sleep. But timing matters. If you exercise too late in the day, the endorphins from your workout will make it too hard for you to get to sleep.
In Houston, the timing is twice as important. You want to be really careful to exercise earlier in the day so that you also don’t overheat. If you get too hot too close to bedtime, you won’t be able to cool down enough to get restorative quality sleep.
Implement relaxation techniques
The last thing to try before seeking outside help is relaxation exercises. Try things like progressive muscle relaxation or deep breathing, right before bed. This helps lower your nervous system’s activation so that your body can calm down for rest.
These are all things that can improve the likelihood that you will get a good night's sleep regularly. But if you find yourself awake in the middle of the night, what do you do then?
What to do if you can’t sleep
If you find yourself awake in the middle of the night, there are a couple of things that you can do to sleep better.
When you find yourself awake in the middle of the night, give yourself 15 minutes to lie in bed. If you are still awake after 15 minutes, it’s time to get out of bed and move to another room.
Don’t turn all the lights on and start having a dance party to wear yourself out. Instead, sit quietly and do something in a dim room without screens or anything that is highly activating.
When you start to feel actually tired, go back to bed and try to fall asleep again.
If you find that you have a lot of worries running in your head, adding to your sleep disturbances, write those worries down.
Don’t use your phone or turn the light on. Keep a notebook next to your bed and, in the dim light, write them all down. When your brain tries to worry about them again, remind yourself they are written down, and you can look at them in the morning.
Often this helps with the worries and feeling that you have to hang onto a thought or you’ll forget it the next day.
If these don’t work, try cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (or CBT-I)
If these sleep hygiene tips don’t help you sleep better with more restful nights, it might be time to talk to a sleep expert about CBT-I.
CBT-I is considered the gold standard for treating sleep disorders by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. For people who are struggling with out-of-whack sleep patterns, CBT-I is the best bet. Unlike other treatment options, it targets the root cause of your sleeplessness. You can find more about CBT-I here.
The first step to getting started with CBT-I is a consultation with a team member who can match you to the best therapist for you. During the consultation, we will ask about your sleep and sleep history.
Most of the time, you will schedule your first appointment. Sometimes the therapist will want to send you for some sleep testing with your health care provider to make sure that CBT-I is right for you.
Your healthcare professional might recommend a sleep study and look for conditions like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, heart disease, or circadian rhythm disorders. These are conditions that are important to know about when looking at sleep treatment options.
Start sleeping better in Houston, TX, with Rhythm Wellness
If you are still looking for how to get better sleep in Houston, TX, Rhythm Wellness can help. As a local business, we understand the beauty and pressure of living in this beautiful city and would love to help. Get started having better nights today.
