How to improve your sleep

Here’s a picture of my puppy Jude – he certainly has no problem getting his Z’s! However, for the rest of us, it’s not always easy getting a good night’s sleep.

A good night’s sleep is such an important factor in health – from weight management, to immunity, sleep can affect so many aspects of your life and health.  In order for  “good” sleep to occur, we need to keep on specific innate cycles in which certain hormones are released, and repair processes can occur.

18 Way to Improve Your Sleep

1. Make your room as dark as possible – you should not be able to see your hand in front of your face.  If you must use a digital alarm clock, turn it away from you.
2. Keep all electronic devices as far away from your bed as possible – a minimum of 3 ft.  This includes cell phones, laptops, digital alarm clocks, and other devices.
3. Turn off the TV or remove it from the bedroom.
4. Use your bed for sleeping and sex only.  Never do work in bed, and avoid engaging in any other activities in bed.
5. Keep bedroom neat and clutter-free.
6. Choose comfortable, soothing bedding. And if re-painting any time soon, choose relaxing dark earthy tones.
7. Keep your bedroom cool, but not cold.  The bedroom temperature should not be higher than 21°C. In order to produce and release melatonin, the body needs to cool slightly at night.
8. Avoid using a loud alarm clock – waking suddenly to a loud blaring alarm can shock your body and may produce more grogginess if roused in the middle of a sleep cycle as well as affect your mood throughout the day.  Try an alarm that starts off at a moderate volume and slowly gets louder. Or a sunrise alarm – it has natural light built in and simulates a sunrise.
9. If you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, keep the lights off.  Light shuts down melatonin production.
10. Do not sleep with your pets or children in your bed – they can disrupt your sleep.
11. Sleep nude or at least with loose-fitting nightclothes.
12. Establish regular sleeping hours – try to go to bed and wake up roughly at the same time everyday.
13. Go to bed before 11 pm.  Your adrenal glands recover every night between 11 pm and 1 am.  Start by going to bed every night 15 minutes earlier to work this bedtime into your schedule.
14. Sleep 7 to 9 hours a night.  Sleeping under 6 and over 9 hours per night has been correlated with higher incidences of cancer. If you are within this range regularly and still do not feel rested in the morning, you may want to get tested for sleep apnea.
15. Expose yourself to light first thing in the morning. Open your blinds and turn on the lights – this will put your body into ‘awake’ mode and can help increase your energy levels for the day.
16. Keep household lighting dim from dinnertime to bedtime.
17. If you drink caffeinated beverages, consume them only in the morning.
18. Meditate in the evening.