Stress, worry, an overly full stomach, noises….all conspire to steal shuteye from even the soundest sleepers. An estimated 50 million to 70 million people struggle with sleeping and almost everyone has issues no and again. A good night is important to your health, especially since if you eat well and exercise, you lose less fat when you’re not getting enough sleep. The National Sleep Foundation, along with a multi-disciplinary expert panel, issued its recommendations that most working adults need between 7-9 hours a night. So here are the best hacks to fall asleep faster!
Pretend to be in REM sleep
This idea is a little out there, but it makes some sense. REM is short for rapid eye movement, signaling that super deep sleep where our eyes move behind our eyelids and we rest deeply. Lay down comfortably in bed and try to avoid thinking about anything. Close your eyes and follow the random patterns that appear behind your eyelids.
According to Lifehacker, you should know you’re on your way to sleeping once you start to see complete images, which is super trippy but sounds like solid advice.
Guided Imagery
Recalling a serene memory or imagining a peaceful setting can help reduce the stressors of the day to prepare your mind and body for sleep. Take slow, deep breaths and focus on sensory details, including sights, sounds, and smells to immerse yourself in an imagined space. You may find it helpful to use a pre-recorded soundtrack to direct your thoughts. Guided imagery soundtracks are widely available online.
Sleep during the night
Photo by Ivan Obolensky via Pexels
Sleeping at night is very important, offering benefits long naps and mid-day sleeps are unable to provide. Sleeping during the day is harder and it may also disrupt your circadian rhythms, which have been associated to heart conditions, weight gain, cognitive impairments, and more.
Don’t go to bed hungry or full, and perhaps eat foods that promote the development of melatonin, the hormone that regulates your wakefulness. Foods containing tryptophan, such as chicken, eggs and cod, are good for sleep since they promote the development of this hormone.
Make sure your room is sleep proofed
One of the best ways to ensure you sleep like a baby is having a room that’s dark, quiet, and comfortable, allowing you to make the most out of the hours you spend in bed. If redesigning your room is too much work, you can always use comfortable earplugs and a sleep mask. Avoid doing any type of work in your bed to it is a relaxing, fun place.
May any and all of these work of you, sweet dreams.
If actor Woody Harrelson could choose anyone living or dead to patronize his Los Angeles marijuana dispensary’s “Ganja Giggle Garden,” he says he’d pick a classic cannabis icon: Bob Marley. But he conceded that he doesn’t think he could go “toke-for-toke” with the late reggae star. During an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday, the host posed the hypothetical to Harrelson, asking who he’d most like to invite to the marijuana consumption lounge attached to the dispensary he co-owns with Bill Maher called The Woods.
New York’s premier cannabis lifestyle festival is set to take over Brooklyn on Saturday, April 19, 2025. MARY Fest—curated by the team behind MARY Magazine—is an immersive experience blending cannabis, fashion, music, health and wellness, design, and technology into a one-day festival that connects brands with consumers in an authentic and engaging environment.
All aboard! The Cannabis Experience, Colorado’s first-ever licensed mobile consumption lounge, is rolling out its Roots, Rhythm and Reefer tour — a love letter to Black history in Denver that blends education, cannabis and culture. The BYOB (bring your own bud) tour lasts about ninety minutes and kicks off in historic Five Points, once known as the Harlem of the West. There, guests make a quick pitstop at Denver Kush Club to stock up on goodies and spark up.
