How to Sleep Soundly

by Roxanne Nelson, RN

Sleep may be as natural as breathing and eating, but many of us find ourselves tossing and turning instead. Sleepless nights can be caused by a wide variety of factors, especially stress and your sleep environment.

Preparations

Steps:

2. Eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to bed, especially if it's a large meal. For a before-bed snack, try warm milk, yogurt or a banana.

3. Relax. If you're tense at bedtime, take a warm bath, stretch, listen to music, meditate - whatever works for you.

4. Stay away from the evening news right before bed. Stories of disasters and corruption can be stimulating and disruptive to sleep.

Tips:

Napping can interfere with nighttime sleep. If you're very tired, take a short nap before 2 p.m., but don't sleep for more than 30 minutes.

Even though vigorous exercise should be avoided before bedtime, mild exercise, such as an after-dinner walk, may help you sleep better.

If you're feeling very tense, try drinking herbal teas made from valerian, chamomile, oats, passionflower or balm, which are said to be natural sleep aids.

The Sleep Environment

Steps:

9. Darken the room. Draw your blinds or curtains to keep out streetlights.

10. Sleep on a comfortable bed that gives you good support. Sleeping on a bed that's too hard, too soft or lumpy will have you waking up fatigued and with a backache.

11. Use earplugs if the environment is noisy, or use a fan or other device that creates "white noise." White noise is a soothing sound that blocks out more noxious noises.

12. Focus your mind on pleasant thoughts as you drift off to sleep. Count sheep, count backward, or do whatever works best, but keep your mind off personal and work-related worries.

Tips:

If you have trouble falling asleep, get up and do some light activity until you feel sleepy.

Keep the light dim. Bright light will make you more alert.

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