As I mentioned in the Healthy Trinity, I believe sleep is the most important thing we can do for our physical and psychological health. We perform best with 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Like oral hygiene and physical health, there are things you can do to help optimize your sleep.

Ways to Improve Your Sleep

1) At least an hour before your intended time of rest, turn off electronic screens. This includes TV’s, video games, and computers. Screens emit light that prevents the creation of melatonin. Melatonin is the substance which helps bring on sleep.

2) Lower the lights. Bright light impedes melatonin development and interrupts our natural body rhythms. We are hard-wired to be awake when it is light and asleep when it is dark. If you want to read or do something else before bed, do so with low lights. Many e-readers have settings that can cut out the blue light that impedes melatonin production and all of them have brightness settings.

3) Exercise. Don’t exercise right before bedtime but do exercise sometime during the day. This will tire you out and prepare the body for a peaceful slumber.

4) Avoid alcohol for at least 4 hours before bedtime. Alcohol might help you fall asleep but it will wake you up in the middle of the night.

5) Relax before bed. Some good options for relaxing are meditation, a bath, or reading. Meditation and reading are especially useful if you are someone who has difficulty falling asleep due to anxiety. Meditation and reading can help keep your mind off your worries.

6) Use your bed only for sleeping and sex. Your brain needs to associate tiredness with your bed. If you are working in bed, watching TV in bed, or eating in bed your mind gets confused as to the uses of your bed. If your mind does not make the connection between sleep and your bed, you will have more difficulty falling asleep.

7) Don’t stay in bed if you can’t get back to sleep. If you do wake up in the middle of the night, and can’t get back to sleep for 20 minutes, then you should get out of bed and do something relaxing. If you stay in bed while you are awake, then you begin to associate your bed with being awake, not asleep.

8) Form a routine. You should really try to go to bed and wake up about the same time every day. That way, your body knows when it is supposed to be asleep. If your bedtime pattern is all over the place, your body has difficulty setting up a natural rhythm.

9) Avoid caffeine and sugar before bedtime. People have different sensitivities to caffeine but it is a good idea to steer clear of it before bedtime. Sensitive people will need to give at least a few hours between ingesting caffeine and bedtime. Personally, I try to avoid caffeine after 4 pm. Also, you want a stable blood glucose level for optimal sleep. Having a Milky Way bar right before bed is not recommended.

10) Make sure your bedroom is dark and cool. Believe it or not, a temperature in the mid to high 60’s Fahrenheit is recommended. Also, invest in some black out shades. It is worth it since light sends a signal to your body that it is time to wake up.

11) If your bedtime routine is really out of whack, you can try to establish a natural sleep cycle by rising and going to bed according to the sun. Leave the shades up in your bedroom for a week and get up when the sun rises and go to bed when it is dark. This will set your body on a natural sleep routine. It would be hard to sustain for long but you can manage it for a week; it will help reset your internal clock.

Finally, do not take synthetic sleep aids, like Ambien or Tylenol PM, until you have tried to practice good sleep hygiene. These medications might help you sleep but they come with side effects. Ever heard about people that end up walking naked in the street because they took Ambien? Some people report a less restorative sleep when on sleep medication. You may also be subject to other side effects and allergic reactions. In addition, these medications can be habit forming.  You do not want to have to take artificial sleep aids the rest of your life. If you have serious insomnia over a long time then you might consider taking sleep medication, but it is always a good idea to consult a doctor beforehand. Making a consistent effort in employing proper sleep hygiene will help you with most sleep difficulties.