subject: Sleep Better With These Tips [print this page] We all spend a huge chunk of our life in bed but sometimes sleep can be elusive. It has been estimated that over half of all Americans have some difficulty getting a good nights sleep. Stress during the day, an over-scheduled lifestyle and poor dietary habits all make sleep at night harder to get.
Sleep is a mysterious phenomena. Scientists are still investigating exactly what happens when we fall asleep. We do know that it's critical to our health and survival. A lack of sleep can shorten your lifespan and can even be a cause of weight gain.
We know of some conditions and lifestyle habits that contribute to poor sleep. Being overweight, depression, a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition are all contributing factors to a poor nights sleep.
If you've been running into too many nights when the sheep refuse to be counted, give these tips a try.
Don't take naps. Taking a nap during the day throws off the sleep/wake cycle. If you feel sleepy during the day, it's possibly due to boredom, feeling too warm or staying immobile for too long. Get up and get your blood flowing, both to your body and to your brain.
Put some exercise into your daily routine. Not just to tire yourself out, but to reduce stress. Get rid of the stress and when it comes time to go to bed, you won't need any extra time for your shoulders to loosen up. If you can get your blood pumping during the day your brain and the rest of your organs will function better to help you shut down even quicker at night.
When you do get to sleep, don't oversleep. When you've had a rough time getting to sleep, the natural tendency is to try to make up for it the next day or on the weekend. Sleeping for an unusually long period of time doesn't make you feel any better physically and can completely disrupt your sleep cycle making it even harder to get to sleep the next night.
Avoid the hot toddy. Drinking alcohol right before bed makes for shallow, restless sleep. You'll wake up a lot easier, too. Because alcohol has a diuretic effect, you'll be getting up during the night to urinate and you'll probably notice that you have a headache when you do because you feel dehydrated. Skip the drink before bedtime and you'll sleep better.
