For all my friends that are having trouble sleeping...

I woke up this morning after a good night’s sleep, and realized that it is becoming more and more of a regular thing for me.   I had pep in my step on my morning walk and felt like…“the hills were alive with the sound of music” (cue the soundtrack and twirl).

Now, I know that might sound a bit like bragging - but sleep has not exactly been easy for me over the years. In fact, it’s been something I’ve really, really had to work on.

So I wanted to share a few of the simple shifts that have helped me sleep more consistently. Nothing extreme or complicated - just real-life changes in eating habits, lifestyle, and mindset that come from what I’ve learned through Ayurveda, a traditional system of health and wellness from India.

Eating habit changes

I had to stop eating late. In fact, I now try to have my “kitchen closed” by 6 PM. That means I aim to finish eating by around 5, so everything is complete well before 6.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, there is a traditional recommendation to allow about five hours between your last meal and sleep to support comfortable digestion and rest. I’ve found that when I follow this rhythm, my evenings feel much more settled. For me, that usually means eating around 5 PM if I plan to be in bed around 10 PM.

Before making this change, I often went to bed still actively digesting food, which made it hard for my body to fully wind down. I would feel warm, restless, and generally uncomfortable. It was almost like my system was “running hot” at night, even though I wasn’t experiencing true hot flashes.

Now, if I do feel hungry after 6, I’ll usually have a small cup of warm spiced milk. I love it prepared like a gentle, calming cocoa. It’s enough to settle my system without feeling heavy, and it has become a simple evening ritual that signals to my body that the day is done and it’s time to rest.

Lifestyle changes

This part wasn’t complicated, but it was important.

I had to become more consistent with my sleep and wake times. Not rigid, not perfect, but steady enough that my body could start recognizing a rhythm. Over time, I’ve noticed I now tend to get tired “on cue,” which has made it much easier to settle into sleep more naturally. In Ayurveda, this is part of dinacharya, or daily routine, and I’ve really come to appreciate the steadiness it brings.

Another key shift has been making sure I get some form of daily movement. Enough to help discharge built-up energy. If I sit all day, I simply do not sleep well. It is that straightforward for me. A walk, yoga, a dance class, anything that gets me out of my head and back into my body makes a noticeable difference. Without it, I tend to feel restless at night, like my system never quite got the message that the day is over.

Mindset changes

This one still makes me laugh a little.

For a long time, I had this very rigid belief that I had to get eight straight hours of sleep or I was going to fall apart the next day. I don’t even know where I picked that up, but I treated it like law.

So if I woke up in the night… or couldn’t fall asleep… or woke up too early… I would immediately start doing the mental math of how much sleep I was losing. And of course, that only made everything worse. Stress about sleep is a very effective way to make sure you don’t sleep.

Over time, I’ve learned to be a bit more flexible. I’ve discovered that I often function well with around six-ish hours, and it does not always have to happen in one perfect stretch. Sometimes I sleep, wake up, read, reflect, do a few quiet things, and go back to sleep... and I’m honestly the next day is usually just fine.

What I’ve learned overall

Most of these changes are simple. Almost deceptively simple.

But when you’re tired and busy, simple things are often the hardest to see clearly.

I was eating really late after a long day at the office without many breaks and no exercise, then going to bed at all sorts of different times, only to watch the clock and worry about how tired I was going to be the next day...

I’m very grateful those patterns have shifted. As the saying goes:

“Sleep is the best bridge between despair and hope.” — E. Joseph Cossman

And I do think there’s a lot of truth in that. I hope sharing my experience helps you build your own version of that bridge.

Until next time, my friends,Sandy

Sandy