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How is your Sleep Hygiene?
Are you one of the 50-70 million Americans that have a sleep disorder? Do you always feel tired?<
The National Sleep Foundation has tips to help you get a good nights sleep.
1)Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends. This helps to regulate your body's clock and could help you fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.
2)Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. A relaxing, routine activity right before bedtime conducted away from bright lights helps separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety which can make it more difficult to fall asleep, get sound and deep sleep or remain asleep.
3)If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Power napping may help you get through the day, but if you find that you can't fall asleep at bedtime, eliminating even short catnaps may help.
4)Exercise daily. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep.
5)Evaluate your room. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool – between 60 and 67 degrees. Your bedroom should also be free from any noise that can disturb your sleep. Finally, your bedroom should be free from any light. Check your room for noises or other distractions. This includes a bed partner's sleep disruptions such as snoring. Consider using blackout curtains, eye shades, ear plugs, "white noise" machines, humidifiers, fans and other devices.
6) Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy – about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up.
Find more at info at National Sleep Foundation http://bit.ly/1Sy48EA
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I found that tip 4 really helped me. A few years ago I started getting more exercise by turning on the radio and dancing to my favorite songs! It helped me to fall asleep instead of counting sheep.
What tips or tricks do you use to help you sleep better regularly?
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1 ReactionA free hypnotic session from the internet. A deeper sleep and i need less sleep with it. And strong and alert the next day.
Thanks for posting this @sandytoes14,
I can tick the boxes for tips 1 and 3-6, but I fail quite miserable at tip number 2. My pre-bedtime routine is far from ideal. The period between computer time and bedtime is usually too short or I'll read the news on my phone just before going to sleep. That's the worst both in terms of light from the phone and the information I'm absorbing. I recently got a fitness tracking watch that also tracks my sleep. I have set the reminder to tell me to start winding down for bed. But I don't always heed it. I'm getting better, probably 3 out of 7 nights a week. I strive to keep increasing that to 7 out of 7.
So why do we continue poor behaviors even when we know they are bad for us? I doubt I'll get an answer, but I continue to strive to do better.
PS: I have a lovely lavender hand cream that I apply at my bedside. I'm not sure if it makes me actually sleep better, but I love the smell.
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2 ReactionsYou go girl! I love your post. I live by you music and move style! 1hour a day is my goal!
If I'm having trouble sleeping & I wake up in the night (hear I go again;-) I put my Paced Breathing App on where this lovely voice talks me into a deep sleep! If I have a cold or asthma attack...it truly helps me. I feel my brain and nervous system relax with this voice guided talk and that not only the key for sleeping but healing! What do you think? What's your fav workout song?
Linda
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3 ReactionsMy go to song is Boot, Scoot and Boogie by Brooks and Dunn, or I will put on the 70's music channel and move to it! Today I downloaded on Apple Relax & Sleep Well. I find I have a difficult time relaxing to fall asleep and I am trying to cut a medicine that I am taking daily to fall and stay asleep.
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3 ReactionsI was thinking about sleep hygiene for me, as well. I do pretty well on numbers 3-6 (except that I usually exercise 5 times per week--rarely 7).
I am like Colleen in that I often read news on my phone right before bed. I also don't do a good job of awakening at the same time on the weekends as on the weekdays.
Good topic for discussion, @sandytoes14 -- important to think about.
Is the fitness tracker providing any useful information that helps you with your sleep, @colleenyoung ?
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1 ReactionMy fitbit doesn't always record sleep. A week or two ago I slept 2 to 3 hours later that the fitbit recorded. Two days ago I took nap, and it was not shown at all. It did show me I was only getting 4 to 5 hours of good sleep most nights. but it shows me awake during the night a lot more than I think I am. I know they say it could be restless sleep. I get up every hour or two to go to the bathroom and usually fall right back to sleep when I lay down. I know I am not getting enough sleep. Even days of more than 10,000 steps, I do not sleep well although I get an occasional night of 9 hours or so every couple weeks.
For extra sound naps, and sleep i go to INTERNET: HYPNOSIS- FREE -SLEEP, XTRA DEEP REM!very alert after
Mari
Hi, @maureercria. That is too bad your fitness tracker doesn't always seem to record your sleep properly. I purchased one and hoped it would help me track that a bit.
You mentioned even on days of 10,000 steps (nice job, by the way) you don't sleep well. Have you found anything else that really helps in getting a good night's sleep for you?
@lisalucier and @colleenyoung Our phones, tablets and computers emit a blue light which interferes with our sleep cycles. The light reduces the amount of melatonin we naturally produce. I have gone back to a classic alarm in my bedroom and keep my phone in my nightstand for emergency calls.
Colleen, I think we continue with these so called bad behaviors because we try to fit so much in to our days! I have seen some studies suggest we block the blue light by wearing amber glasses.What do you think of that suggestion? Would it be something you might try?
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