Steps
Get on schedule. Varying your sleeping times by more than an hour can severely disrupt your sleep quality by "advancing the sleep phase". For example, let's say you normally wake up at 7 a.m. on weekdays to get to work, so youget to bed around 11 p.m. because that's when you start to feel sleepy, and it's also a good time to ensure 8 hours of sleep .If on the weekend you sleep in until 9 a.m., you probably won't be able to fall asleep that night until 1 a.m. Then, you probably won't want to wake up the next morning until 10 a.m., in which case it will start getting very difficult to fall asleep at 11 p.m. again. In other words, your body thrives on running on a routine; erratic sleeping sessions will interfere with your internal "biological clock."
Sleep on an empty stomach. Wait at least three hours after dinner before going to sleep. Digestion doesn't work well while asleep, and a full stomach may interrupt sleep. Do not eat heavy foods for the few hours prior to sleep. Switch to decaf coffee and avoid tea cocoa and cola drinks, because caffeine can keep you awake even if you drank it earlier in the day as the effect of caffeine lasts for about 8 hours. Avoid tobacco products in evenings as well. While alcohol will make you feel sleepy, it will reduce sleep quality. If you find your stomach grumbling for contents and keeping you awake, have a light snack about an hour before bedtime. Stick to milk, turkey and peanuts which all contain chemicals that help the brain relax
Keep the room dark. Exposure to light during the time you're supposed to be sleeping can disrupt your body's internal cycles. This has been documented in studies surrounding circadian rhythms. Turn your light off, or use a very dim night light. Pull curtains across, blinds down or shut the shutters, to prevent outdoor lights from shining on you. If you wake up and see any kind of bright light, you'll have a much harder time falling back asleep. Try to eliminate all sources of light, including from windows, LED clocks and cable boxes, by covering them with heavy paper or cloth covers, or blue tack.
Change your sleeping position. You may think that it's impossible to control what position you sleep in since you aren't fully aware of what your doing, but it is possible and can make a big difference. When you go to sleep, or when you wake up in the middle of the night, make a conscious effort to follow these guidelines until it becomes habitual:
Keep your body in a "mid-line" position, where both your head and neck are kept roughly straight. Don't use a flat pillow that causes your head to tilt down towards the mattress. Likewise, don't stack your pillows so that your head is propped at an angle.
Place a pillow between your legs if you sleep on your side. This will support your hips and make this position more comfortable plus it feels good!
Place a pillow under your legs if you sleep on your back to take stress off your lower back.
Avoid sleeping on your stomach. It's difficult to maintain the mid-line position, and it is more likely to cause aches and pains. If you must, bend one arm upwards and place it under your pillow. This will help alleviate stress on your back and neck by slightly propping up your body on one side.
Maintain your matressTurn the mattress over every few months. Replace it after 5-7 years of regular use. If you feel springs or ridges beneath the surface when you're lying on the bed, or you and your partner roll to the middle of the bed unintentionally, it's time to go mattress shopping. You can also tell that the mattress may be the culprit if you find yourself sleeping well in another bed.
Exercise If you have a sedentary job, a lack of physical exertion may be reducing the quality of your sleep. The human body uses sleep to repair and recover. If there isn't much to recover from, your body's sleep cycle could be disrupted. A day of physical exertion (such as taking a run or a swim) or, better yet, regular exercise can make for deeper and more restful sleep.
Make note of unusual circumstances. If you are not sleeping well, there could be many reasons for it, such as stress, certain illnesses, or maybe something you heard or saw which traumatized you. Is there any recent event or change in circumstances that has been troubling or preoccupying you? This issue may be following you subconsciously and interfering with your sleep. If the issue itself cannot be addressed or resolved directly, consider employing relaxation tehniques such as meditation.
Visit your doctor. If you are concerned that you may have a sleep disorder, tell your doctor. Some of the most common sleep disorders areinsomnia OSA , restless legs syndrome (RLS), narcolepsy, parasomnias, and even heartburn (acid reflux). If you are indeed suffering from and diagnosed with any of these conditions, your doctor will recommend treatment accordingly.
Tips
Don'tgo for nap any more than 15-20 minutes per day. It can throw off your sleep cycle and make it harder for you to get good sleep at night.
Try not wearing socks for an hour before you go to bed and putting them on right before you go to sleep - the shock of warmness and comfort helps some sleep.
Wear appropriate clothing in relation to the weather. Don't forget your feet- cold feet can keep you awake! Keeps sweatshirt or an extra blanchet right next to the bed, just in case you get too cold at night.
Avoid leaving your TV or music on overnight. If you need it to fall asleep, use the timer feature to make sure it turns off by the time you usually fall asleep.
Close your eyes! It may sound obvious, but when staring at the ceiling (or whatever else) it is hard to fall asleep.
If you can't fall asleep within the first 40 minutes of going to bed, get up and do something else until you feel sleepy. Lying in bed awake for long periods of time will cause you to associate your bed with not sleeping.
You may try using a particular ritual before you go to bed that will make you sleepy. For example, taking a warm bath, reading a relaxing or even dull book or drinking a glass of warm milk. Also, the scent of lavender will calm you down and may make you feel a little sleepy. If you have lavender scented body splash or perfume, you can try scenting your pillow with it.
Too hot? Learn how to sleep confortably over night.
Try taking a cool shower before going to bed. You wash off a good deal of what might make you itchy, especially if you've been outdoors and have a bug bite or two.
Keep bedroom clutter to a minimum so the last thing you see at night is your bed, not all the little things that need to be taken care of.
If you don't fall asleep quickly, don't lie there "trying" to go to sleep -- just tell yourself you'll rest for a while. When you stop trying, you just might fall asleep.
People with Attention Deficit Disorder (with or without Hyperactivity) sometimes find that stimulants (caffeine) calm them and help them sleep. You may know someone who makes a pot of coffee just before bedtime.
Here is how you can find the optimal thickness for a pillow: Stand comfortably with your back against a wall. The distance between the wall and your head is the ideal compressed pillow thickness.
Kill the Noise. Having distracting noises that startle you can spike your heart rate. Find a quiet place to sleep.
Try to sleep with a window open to have some fresh air come in on a cool night helps me sleep very well.
If you are struggling to sleep due to changes in your sleep cycle, take one dose of Melatonin before you go to sleep. Continue this routine for a few days, or as instructed on the back of the medicine bottle. If you still cannot establish a regular sleep cycle after taking Melatonin, do not continue to take Melatonin. Seek advice from a Pharmacist or Physician about your irregular sleeping habits.
Warnings
Do not become dependent on sleep medication (even over the counter) as they can become addictive, and you may not be able to go to sleep without them. Also, the medication can have side effects in which you fall asleep during the day and can reduce sleep quality.
Do not keep noisy animals in the same room where you sleep.
Try not to fall asleep with the TV on as it trains your body to need the noise in order to fall asleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night and it's quiet you may have trouble getting back to sleep.
Get on schedule. Varying your sleeping times by more than an hour can severely disrupt your sleep quality by "advancing the sleep phase". For example, let's say you normally wake up at 7 a.m. on weekdays to get to work, so youget to bed around 11 p.m. because that's when you start to feel sleepy, and it's also a good time to ensure 8 hours of sleep .If on the weekend you sleep in until 9 a.m., you probably won't be able to fall asleep that night until 1 a.m. Then, you probably won't want to wake up the next morning until 10 a.m., in which case it will start getting very difficult to fall asleep at 11 p.m. again. In other words, your body thrives on running on a routine; erratic sleeping sessions will interfere with your internal "biological clock."
Sleep on an empty stomach. Wait at least three hours after dinner before going to sleep. Digestion doesn't work well while asleep, and a full stomach may interrupt sleep. Do not eat heavy foods for the few hours prior to sleep. Switch to decaf coffee and avoid tea cocoa and cola drinks, because caffeine can keep you awake even if you drank it earlier in the day as the effect of caffeine lasts for about 8 hours. Avoid tobacco products in evenings as well. While alcohol will make you feel sleepy, it will reduce sleep quality. If you find your stomach grumbling for contents and keeping you awake, have a light snack about an hour before bedtime. Stick to milk, turkey and peanuts which all contain chemicals that help the brain relax
Keep the room dark. Exposure to light during the time you're supposed to be sleeping can disrupt your body's internal cycles. This has been documented in studies surrounding circadian rhythms. Turn your light off, or use a very dim night light. Pull curtains across, blinds down or shut the shutters, to prevent outdoor lights from shining on you. If you wake up and see any kind of bright light, you'll have a much harder time falling back asleep. Try to eliminate all sources of light, including from windows, LED clocks and cable boxes, by covering them with heavy paper or cloth covers, or blue tack.
Change your sleeping position. You may think that it's impossible to control what position you sleep in since you aren't fully aware of what your doing, but it is possible and can make a big difference. When you go to sleep, or when you wake up in the middle of the night, make a conscious effort to follow these guidelines until it becomes habitual:
Keep your body in a "mid-line" position, where both your head and neck are kept roughly straight. Don't use a flat pillow that causes your head to tilt down towards the mattress. Likewise, don't stack your pillows so that your head is propped at an angle.
Place a pillow between your legs if you sleep on your side. This will support your hips and make this position more comfortable plus it feels good!
Place a pillow under your legs if you sleep on your back to take stress off your lower back.
Avoid sleeping on your stomach. It's difficult to maintain the mid-line position, and it is more likely to cause aches and pains. If you must, bend one arm upwards and place it under your pillow. This will help alleviate stress on your back and neck by slightly propping up your body on one side.
Maintain your matressTurn the mattress over every few months. Replace it after 5-7 years of regular use. If you feel springs or ridges beneath the surface when you're lying on the bed, or you and your partner roll to the middle of the bed unintentionally, it's time to go mattress shopping. You can also tell that the mattress may be the culprit if you find yourself sleeping well in another bed.
Exercise If you have a sedentary job, a lack of physical exertion may be reducing the quality of your sleep. The human body uses sleep to repair and recover. If there isn't much to recover from, your body's sleep cycle could be disrupted. A day of physical exertion (such as taking a run or a swim) or, better yet, regular exercise can make for deeper and more restful sleep.
Make note of unusual circumstances. If you are not sleeping well, there could be many reasons for it, such as stress, certain illnesses, or maybe something you heard or saw which traumatized you. Is there any recent event or change in circumstances that has been troubling or preoccupying you? This issue may be following you subconsciously and interfering with your sleep. If the issue itself cannot be addressed or resolved directly, consider employing relaxation tehniques such as meditation.
Visit your doctor. If you are concerned that you may have a sleep disorder, tell your doctor. Some of the most common sleep disorders areinsomnia OSA , restless legs syndrome (RLS), narcolepsy, parasomnias, and even heartburn (acid reflux). If you are indeed suffering from and diagnosed with any of these conditions, your doctor will recommend treatment accordingly.
Tips
Don'tgo for nap any more than 15-20 minutes per day. It can throw off your sleep cycle and make it harder for you to get good sleep at night.
Try not wearing socks for an hour before you go to bed and putting them on right before you go to sleep - the shock of warmness and comfort helps some sleep.
Wear appropriate clothing in relation to the weather. Don't forget your feet- cold feet can keep you awake! Keeps sweatshirt or an extra blanchet right next to the bed, just in case you get too cold at night.
Avoid leaving your TV or music on overnight. If you need it to fall asleep, use the timer feature to make sure it turns off by the time you usually fall asleep.
Close your eyes! It may sound obvious, but when staring at the ceiling (or whatever else) it is hard to fall asleep.
If you can't fall asleep within the first 40 minutes of going to bed, get up and do something else until you feel sleepy. Lying in bed awake for long periods of time will cause you to associate your bed with not sleeping.
You may try using a particular ritual before you go to bed that will make you sleepy. For example, taking a warm bath, reading a relaxing or even dull book or drinking a glass of warm milk. Also, the scent of lavender will calm you down and may make you feel a little sleepy. If you have lavender scented body splash or perfume, you can try scenting your pillow with it.
Too hot? Learn how to sleep confortably over night.
Try taking a cool shower before going to bed. You wash off a good deal of what might make you itchy, especially if you've been outdoors and have a bug bite or two.
Keep bedroom clutter to a minimum so the last thing you see at night is your bed, not all the little things that need to be taken care of.
If you don't fall asleep quickly, don't lie there "trying" to go to sleep -- just tell yourself you'll rest for a while. When you stop trying, you just might fall asleep.
People with Attention Deficit Disorder (with or without Hyperactivity) sometimes find that stimulants (caffeine) calm them and help them sleep. You may know someone who makes a pot of coffee just before bedtime.
Here is how you can find the optimal thickness for a pillow: Stand comfortably with your back against a wall. The distance between the wall and your head is the ideal compressed pillow thickness.
Kill the Noise. Having distracting noises that startle you can spike your heart rate. Find a quiet place to sleep.
Try to sleep with a window open to have some fresh air come in on a cool night helps me sleep very well.
If you are struggling to sleep due to changes in your sleep cycle, take one dose of Melatonin before you go to sleep. Continue this routine for a few days, or as instructed on the back of the medicine bottle. If you still cannot establish a regular sleep cycle after taking Melatonin, do not continue to take Melatonin. Seek advice from a Pharmacist or Physician about your irregular sleeping habits.
Warnings
Do not become dependent on sleep medication (even over the counter) as they can become addictive, and you may not be able to go to sleep without them. Also, the medication can have side effects in which you fall asleep during the day and can reduce sleep quality.
Do not keep noisy animals in the same room where you sleep.
Try not to fall asleep with the TV on as it trains your body to need the noise in order to fall asleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night and it's quiet you may have trouble getting back to sleep.
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