Following the top ten recommendations for healthy sleep can help you fall asleep faster, sleep through the night, make you feel refreshed the next day, improve your health, and lengthen your life.
The Top Ten Recommendations for Healthier Sleep:
- Fix regular times for going to bed and for getting up.
- If you nap during the day, don't allow yourself more than 45 minutes of sleeping time.
- Stop consuming alcoholic beverages four hours before bedtime and don't smoke at all.
- Avoid caffeine beginning six hours before bedtime. This includes not only coffee and tea but many soft drinks and chocolate as well.
- Avoid heavy, spicy, or sugary foods starting four hours before bedtime. A light snack just before retiring is okay.
- Exercise regularly, but not right before bed.
- Use comfortable and supportive bedding.
- Find a comfortable temperature setting for your bedroom and keep the room well ventilated.
- Block out all distracting noise and eliminate as much light as possible.
- Reserve your bed for sleep. It is not an office, a workroom, a movie theater, or a TV viewing venue.
Bonus: Stick to your prescription schedules! Whether it's medication, therapy, or anything else your doctor has told you to do (sleep-related or otherwise), disruptions to a routine will affect your sleep.
We would love to hear some of your personal sleep recommendations. Post them in the comments below! 👇