6 TIPS FOR YOUR BEST SLEEP
There are lots of things you can do tonight to try to improve your sleep quality and quantity, and they don’t include anything lavender- scented:
Clear your bedroom of distractions
When it comes to bedtime, you have to set yourself up for success, experts say. This means removing televisions and other screens from the bedroom and creating a dark and quiet place that actually signals to your brain that this is a place to sleep. If you work in your bedroom, eat there or watch late night TV in bed, you can be interfering with the brain’s associations with that room, according to Medalie.
Avoid exercise before bed
Both Medalie and Prasad suggest avoiding exercise for several hours before bed, both to keep your body temperature ready to drop to a sleep- conducive level and prevent you from heading to bed too stimulated.
Stop eating several hours before bed
Besides avoiding caffeine after lunch, Prasad said making sure you finish dinner with at least three hours to digest before bedtime is a good way to ensure that an overactive digestive system isn’t interfering with your body’s relaxation.
Keep it cool
Natural sleep occurs when the body’s temperature drops, Prasad said, so it’s important to make sure you aren’t trying to sleep where it is too warm. In addition to cooling the bedroom down, you can help lower your body’s core temperature by taking a warm bath or shower before hitting the sack. The warm water can help you relax, Medalie said, and once you step out of it your body’s temperature will drop quickly.
Dealwith your stress
If worrying about the day’s problems or the next day’s tasks are what prevent you from falling asleep, take some time to address them before you even try to close your eyes, Medalie said. Make a list of those worries, and think about a solution and then a plan of action for each. Fold up the paper and set it aside, knowing that you can go to bed and take the first steps in the morning.
Get up
If waking up in the middle of the night and having trouble going back to sleep is where your problems crop up, don’t waste your time lying in bed stressing about it, Medalie said. Get up for a few minutes, maybe just to read on the couch and get your brain in a different place before trying to sleep again. The longer you lay in bed awake, the more frustrated you become, Medalie said, which can lead you to associate that feeling with the bed and keep you up even longer.