Are you thinking about improving your sleep? If so, you’re not alone.

I’ve been exploring sleep and natural ways to improve it for over 20 years, so it’s nice to see that it’s catching on. 🙂

Unfortunately, what most sleep experts offer are “tips and tricks” for improving your sleep. I say unfortunate because like many of my clients, I’ve tried a lot of them. And many more remedies will continue to come on the market as companies realize that the sleep market is booming.

Regardless of your method, here are my 3 simple (but not necessarily easy!) steps to improving your sleep:

Cultivate a curious mindset & experiment

There will almost always be new techniques to learn and try out for yourself. Listen to what other people have done, and consider what they’re telling you with an open mind and heart. Initially sometimes you’ll hear something that brings up resistance (e.g. giving up your morning coffee); other times a technique will seem to “speak” to you and you’ll feel eager to try it (e.g. turning off your devices an hour before bedtime). Try to give the tools that come into your awareness a fair shake and generate some curiosity about them. Think of yourself as a scientist or explorer, then experiment with one thing for a long enough period of time (about 3 months) before you change things again (that includes not adding anything new, as it will help you with step #2!).

Learn to pay closer attention

This is the most important step, as it’s where you discover whether what you’re experimenting with is truly helping you or not. If you’re not present in your own mind and body, you may not be able to detect the (often subtle) shifts that occur. Are you falling asleep just 5 minutes faster? Waking up 1 time fewer a couple nights a week? Returning to sleep just a tad bit more quickly than you did when you randomly woke the night before? Look for the little indications of progress from the change you made, not immediate perfection. Cultivating a little patience can help too, since it may take a little while to recognize progress.

Give yourself permission to let go

It’s OK to keep doing the 1-2 things that help you most, and ditch everything else. There’s no need to have a bedtime routine that consists of 20 things! Also, what may have worked for your mother or your best friend who swears by their method may not actually work for you. Alternatively, something that didn’t work for someone else might have the power to significantly improve YOUR life. (See #1, above.) Remember: everyone is different! Lastly, what works for you might change over time, because you’re always changing. This is sometimes frustrating, but it teaches us to be adaptable.

A caveat to these 3 simple steps for improving your sleep

Consistently high-quality sleep and energy takes a bit more effort than popping a pill or checking a gadget. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth!

So, what will your sleep experiment be? What supports will you put in place to help you?