These guidelines are designed to help you relax, fall asleep, stay asleep, and get better sleep, so that you wake up refreshed and alert!
– Keep a routine to your day, if possible. Go to sleep at approximately the same time everyday. Get up at the same time everyday, even if you ended up going to bed later than planned or had trouble sleeping during the night.
– If you have to take a nap during the day, keep it to less than 1/2 hour. And if you’re finding that it’s contributing to you having trouble falling asleep at night, give it up.
– Exercise as early in the day as is practical for you. Exercise can be stimulating and rev you up, not calm you down.
– If you have coffee or other caffeinated drinks or foods (soda, tea) stop at least 6 hours before you go to sleep. If you need to, stop earlier as caffeine can stay in the system for up to 14 hours.
– As a rule, don’t drink alcohol after dinner. While it may help you fall asleep, when it’s metabolized and cleared from your system it may cause you to awaken.
– You shouldn’t be smoking anyway, but nicotine is a stimulant and will work against you in terms of trying to fall asleep.
– Before bedtime, a hot bath can relax your muscles and mind.
– Make the bedroom conducive to sleeping; minimize noise and light, and set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature – not too hot or cold.
– If your bedroom is noisy and you’ve done all you can to minimize the noise, there are “white noise” machines that help soften the noise.
– If you read in bed before dozing off, make sure you can turn off the light switch without getting out of bed.
– Sleep experts suggest that your bedroom should not have a TV or other electronics. Neither should it have paperwork that’s on your “to do” list.
– If your mind is on “overdrive” and you are having trouble falling asleep, there are lots of relaxation, breathing or meditation techniques that can help you slow it down.
– If you are often awakened during the night to go to urinate, try drinking your last fluids for the day at least two hours before bedtime.
– If you do get up at night, keep the lighting dim.
– If you wake up during the night worrying, and are unable to fall back to sleep within a short period of time, get out of bed. Go into another room and read or write down your thoughts on a piece of paper. (Don’t use electronic devices.) Then try going back to bed.
– If poor sleep persists, there might be other reasons for your sleep difficulties and you should consult with your physician.
Natural Sleep Aids
There are nutrition and herbal supplements to support stress modulation, promoting restful sleep, without concern of being habit-forming. Many include adaptogenic herbs that help stabilize cortisol levels, like ashwagandha, rhodiola, red ginseng, magnolia and holy basil. Others include the amino acid L-theanine or melatonin.
