Get a Good Night's Sleep

Soak Yourself to Sleep

Try taking a hot shower or bath before going to bed. It can help relax your tense muscles and bring on sleep more easily.

15 Tips for Better Sleep

1. Maintain a regular sleep time. Try to go to bed at about the same time every day and — more importantly — be sure to wake up and get up at the same time every morning (even on weekends).
2. Make your bedroom surroundings conducive to sleep. Make sure your bed is comfortable and fully supports you. Don’t set the temperature too warm or too cool. Keep the radio and the TV out of the bedroom. And make sure that the room is dark. If you live in a city or are a shift worker, room darkening shades may help.
3. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine at least four hours before sleep. Caffeine and nicotine are addictive stimulants and keep you awake. Smokers experience withdrawal symptoms at night, and they have a harder time both falling asleep and waking up. Alcohol metabolizes into sugar in your system and can therefor make sleep difficult.
4. Limit liquids after dinner. If you drink too much liquid before sleeping, you'll wake up repeatedly in the night for trips to the bathroom.
5. Use the bedroom only for sleep and sex. Don’t bring work or other stressors into the bedroom. It can literally keep you up at night.
6. Exercise - but not within two hours of bedtime. If you're trying to sleep better, the best time to exercise is in the afternoon. Physical activity enhances the deep, refreshing stage of sleep.
7. Review you medications with your physician. More than 100 commonly prescribed medications can interfere with sleep. Don’t forget to also check your over-the-counter meds.
8. Try not to nap. Daytime naps steal hours from nighttime sleep. Limit daytime naps to no more than 30 minutes.
9. Get some natural light. Exposure to natural light during the day is as important as a dark room at night. If you are a shift worker, expose yourself to as much bright light during your waking hours as possible.
10. Set aside “worry time”. Get your worrying out of the way in the early evening. Think about what’s troubling you and try to formulate a plan before you go to bed. This should help stop your troubles from keeping you awake at night.
11. Allow yourself time to wind down. Stop work at least 30 minutes before bedtime and do something relaxing.
12. Try sleep restriction therapy. Rather than spending time in your bed trying to fall asleep, allow yourself only a few hours in bed a night. As sleep improves, reward yourself by increasing the time you spend in bed. Remember, this will not work if you sneak in naps during the day.
13. Don't overuse sleeping pills. Sleeping pills are not a longterm solution and should only be used with caution and a doctor’s approval.
14. Practice relaxing. Learn meditation or yoga or any other of the many relaxation techniques available to you.
15. If you CAN’T fall asleep... If after 30 minutes you still can’t fall asleep, get out of bed and out of the bedroom. Do something relaxing until sleepiness returns.

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