It’s important to your overall health to get a good nights sleep. In many sleep studies, there is a link to not getting enough sleep and potentially serious health risks. Lack of sleep can be a contributor to heart attacks, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
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Set A Sleep Schedule
Go to bed and get up at the same time each and every day. Make sure that you’re doing this on weekends and holidays too. You’ll have to be consistent to reinforce the sleep-wake cycle of your body and to promote a healthier sleep pattern.
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Don’t Go To Bed Hungry Or Over Full
Never go to bed hungry or over full. It can make you uncomfortable and keep you awake at night. Don’t drink too much water after about 4:00 in the afternoon or you may have to make too many trips to the bathroom at night.
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Have A Nighttime Ritual
Each night have a ritual that you go through to bed. This tells your body that you’re preparing for bed and it readies it to accept this. Your bedtime ritual should include some form of relaxation such as a hot shower or soothing bath to ease your transition from the day to night.
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Set The Stage
Make your bedroom the ideal room for sleeping. It should be cool, quiet, and dark. You may wish to use room darkening curtains, wear earplugs, set the thermostat to about 65 degrees and so on.
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Add In Some Regular Exercise
Be sure that you’re getting plenty of exercise. This will help you to fall asleep faster. Remember, don’t exercise right before bed.
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Stress Management
If you’re too stressed, you can’t let it go when you want to sleep. Learn how to relax and let go of stress. This may mean meditation, music, yoga, deep breathing exercises and such.
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Turn Off The Electronics
Be mindful of how electronics work in your brain. Research shows that electronic screen time can actually interfere with sleep, especially when it’s done within half an hour of bedtime.
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Lower Caffeine Intake
Caffeine can take several hours to wear off, stop drinking caffeinated drinks earlier in the day.
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Invest In Comfort
Take the time and money to invest in a comfortable mattress and pillow and bedding. This will go far to help you sleep better. We hear a lot of positive things about the Nora mattress – if you don’t believe us check out this Nora Mattress review.