Sleep Hygiene – How to Prepare for a Good Night Sleep

We've already discussed several relaxation techniques for helping your body prepare for sleep. Here we will take a more detailed look at various ways to improve your sleep hygiene in an effort to help you learn how to prepare yourself for a good night's sleep.

Take a bath

In addition to making your body clean, taking a bath is also a great way to relax and relieve the stress that has built up throughout the day. Decreasing body temperature is a key ingredient for preparing the body for sleep. If you take a hot bath around 60 or 90 minutes before bed, it will raise your body temperature. When you get out of the bath, your temperature will immediately begin to fall, causing your bod to begin getting tired.

Eat lightly before bed

Eating lightly means exactly that, lightly. If you eat more than a light snack before bed you may not be as comfortable as you could be. Certain foods, or large quantities of food may also cause heartburn, and that will only get worse when you lie down. These things will tend to interrupt your sleep pattern. You can prevent hunger from waking you up during the night by having a light, healthy snack before you go to bed.

Serotonin is a chemical that helps the body relax when it is released. Eating snacks such as peanuts, turkey and milk will aid in the release of this chemical. Cereal and toast are other good choices for bedtime snacks. Limiting your liquid intake before bed will prevent you from having to wake up to the call of nature during the night.

Keep a notepad by your bed

You'll also find it very difficult to fall asleep if you lie there thinking about the events of the day and everything you need to do tomorrow. Before you lie down to go to sleep, instead of stewing over these things, write them down on a piece of paper and get them out of your mind. If you clear your mind of these things, the amount and quality of sleep you get will be much better.

Don't try to sleep if you aren't sleepy

If you toss and turn when you lie down to go to sleep, it may be that you simply aren't tired. One way to try and induce sleep is to read for a while before trying to sleep. Try to avoid sleeping in bed, though. When you begin to feel sleepy, then you can move to the bed. If you still haven't fallen asleep after about 20 minutes, get up and try it again. Try to avoid stimulating activities though.

If you do have trouble falling asleep, try to develop better sleep hygiene habits instead of relying on over-the-counter sleep aids. If you put into use some of the tips mentioned in this article, you will probably find that you have no use for the sleep aids after all.

         

Sleeping Guide and Tips

Sleep Hygiene – Taking Care of Your Sleep
Creating a Better Sleep Environment to Help You Sleep
Sleep and Shift Work
Daytime Habits to Help You Sleep
How to Get Back to Sleep When Sleep is Disrupted