subject: A Good Night's Sleep - 10 Easy Ways to Wake Up Rested [print this page] 1Something to Live For1Something to Live For. One of the most important aspects of sleep quality is to have something to look forward to the next morning. Rephrased, you need something that causes you to spring out of bed, rather than the opposite (dragging yourself out of bed). If you don't have the motivation to wake up in the morning it detracts from your ability to sleep comfortably - right up until the cold grey morning attacks you with an alarm bell. If need be, find a hobby. Anything from an energetic job search to rid yourself of that day job you hate, to something you can also do while on break at your day job, will suffice as a "hobby." It must, though, be something that interests you enough to make you want to rise earlier than most people to allow you to work on it each day before you go to work.
2Bunk choice. You may prefer the top or bottom bunk, or a big comfortable bed. You may like a soft or hard mattress. There are even differences in bed bases. In Europe, a slat bed with wooden slats rather than box springs is often used under a mattress. Selection basically depends on personal comfort preference.
3Total darkness. Take your pick: Window shades, curtains, blinds or opaque adhesive foil (think: aluminum foil). Regardless of your choice, you must determine a way to effectively block all light from your windows and door. Some locations on the planet use roll-up, roll-down metal shades mounted to the outside of house and apartment windows. When completely lowered, the shades provide complete darkness for a sleeping area, regardless of time of day, and work well for power naps, too.
4Nightly routine. Always try to go to bed at around the same time. Always follow a routine before you go to bed. Your typical routine activities before bedtime may include brushing your teeth, taking a bath, reading a book or magazine, even if it's only a few minutes to make you drowsy. If you feel discombobulated before you go to bed, or (worse) in the morning before you go to work, it may be because you strayed outside of your normal routine. Similarly, if you feel like you forgot something, you probably left out a step in your routine.
5Fluids. Earlier in the day, cut off your caffeine intake. To ensure that you don't get a residual caffeine high in the middle of the night, don't touch caffeine after noon (or stop drinking caffeine products around eight hours before you go to bed).You should also stop drinking fluids of any variety at least an hour before you plan to go to bed.
6Visit the bathroom (one more time). This one is very important, regardless of age. One more time, seconds before you plan to close your eyes. (It's so important, it warrants a separate category.)
7No problems that might keep you awake. Similar toSomething to live for above, there may be problems in your life that disturb your sleep. If possible, resolve major problems before you go to bed at night. That may sound like a tall order, but if your job is so boring or unattractive that you dread going to work every day, you will have to fix the situation over the long-term, or it will affect your sleep. If you're in debt up to your neck, develop a plan to get out of debt. If you're unemployed, discontinue your unemployment checks, and get some sort of job or start a business (start a lawn-moving business, if you have to). Distractions may also be of the simplistic variety: If you have family members that tend to stomp down staircases, scream or play loud music while you try to sleep, with no way for them to gain your perspective (short of screaming at them), you may want to purchase ear plugs.
8Get fit. Outside of the basic things above that affect your ability to close your eyes and get some much needed rest, fitness activities of any variety will rest your soul over the long-term, even if the exercise is just a daily walk. Always check with your doctor before beginning any new fitness activity or before doing anything that raises the level of your resting heart beat. However, it's the heart-level-raising that places you in a ready-to-rest mode later in the day. Do your fitness activities early in the day, never in the hours right before you go to sleep.
9Up the ante. To further your health craze, eliminate alcohol and cigarettes from your life. They detract from the healthy sleep rhythm that is generated by adhering to 1 through8 above.
10 See a doctor. If none of the above helps you develop a healthy sleep pattern that provides you with a minimum of seven hours of uninterrupted slumber - see a doctor to discuss other issues that may be disturbing your sleep.
A Good Night's Sleep - 10 Easy Ways to Wake Up Rested
