Work, household responsibilities and childcare can make it difficult to get a good night’s rest. Add unexpected challenges such as financial worries, relationship issues or an illness and sleep is even harder to come by.You may not be able to control or eliminate all the things that can interfere with your sleep, but you can create an environment and adopt habits that encourage a more restful night.Try these suggestions:
Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on the weekends. Sticking to a schedule helps reinforce your body’s sleep-wake cycle and can help you fall asleep better at night.
Don’t eat or drink large amounts before bed. Eat a light dinner about two hours before sleeping.
Avoid nicotine and caffeine. These are addictive stimulants that can keep you awake. Avoid caffeine for eight hours before your desired bedtime.
-Exercise regularly. Physical activity, especially aerobic exercise, can help you fall asleep faster and make your sleep more restful. However, exercising right before bed may make getting to sleep more difficult.
-Make your bedroom cool, dark, quiet and comfortable. Adjust the lighting, temperature, humidity and noise level to your preferences.
-Sleep primarily at night. Limit daytime sleep to less than one hour and don’t nap later than 3 p.m.
-Choose a comfortable mattress and pillow. If you share your bed, make sure there’s enough room for two. Children and pets are often disruptive so you may want to limit how often they sleep with you.
-Start a relaxing bedtime routine. Do the same things each night to tell your body it’s time to wind down. Relaxing activities done with lowered lights can help ease the transition between wakefulness and sleepiness.
-Go to bed when you’re tired and turn out the lights. If you don’t fall asleep within 30 minutes, get up and do something else. Go back to bed when you’re tired.
-Use sleeping pills only as a last resort. Check with your doctor before taking any sleep medications.
It’s also true that a warm glass of milk can help you get to sleep. Dairy foods are a good source of tryptophan, an amino acid that the body converts to melatonin and serotonin, which are thought to induce sleep. Oats, bananas, poultry and peanuts are other good sources of tryptophan.A light bedtime snack that is mostly carbohydrates with a small amount of protein increases the availability of tryptophan to the brain, which helps it make more melatonin and serotonin. A good snack would be: oatmeal or cereal and low fat milk, yogurt with granola, or sliced apples and cheese. You want to be careful to avoid too much protein before bed. Protein is a source of tyrosine, an amino acid that stimulates brain activity.The amount of sleep that one person needs depends on many factors, especially age. Preschoolers need about 10 to 12 hours of sleep, older children and teens need about nine hours and adults need seven to eight.As one ages, sleeping patterns change. Older adults sleep more lightly and awaken more frequently than younger adults. This may be caused by medical conditions or medications that they are taking.Getting enough sleep boosts your immune system, which helps you fight disease, and improves your nervous system. If you feel drowsy during the day — even during boring activities — you are not getting enough sleep. It’s also important to get quality sleep. People whose sleep is frequently interrupted or cut short are not getting quality sleep.If you experience frequent daytime sleepiness, even after increasing the amount of quality sleep that you get, talk to your doctor. He or she may be able to identify the cause of sleep problems and offer advice on how to get a better night’s rest.
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