I’ve been reading recently about how important a good night’s sleep is for feeling happy during the day and being productive in life.  Unfortunately, about 30% of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia and/or sleep deprivation.   In our fast paced world, many people try to do with as little sleep as possible, but then end up suffering emotional and health effects from getting too little sleep.

In order to get a good night’s sleep, I’ve created a simple guide called “Ten Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep.”   By following its guidelines, my hope is that you’ll experience a better quality of sleep each night, as well as more productive and happier days due to having rested well.   Feel free to forward this on to people you care about who might want to improve their quality of sleep.   By resting well each night, you’ll be in good shape to handle whatever life throws at you….

Ten Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep:

1. Make your bedroom conducive to sleep:  people sleep best in cool, dark, and quiet environments.   Use a sleep mask or whatever is necessary to create as dark a room as possible.
2. Create a sleep inducing routine: try taking a bath or shower before bed, or read a book, or some other non-stressful activity before going to bed.
3.  Avoid alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and energy drinks:  caffeine can keep you awake even 6 to 8 hours after it’s ingested, so be especially careful about “hidden” caffeine in soda, chocolate, tea, and pain relievers.
4. Know how to use the light at night:  if possible, avoid highly lit screens an hour before going to bed, such as looking at a computer screen.  If you read before going to bed, make the light a little dim.
5. Keep a consistent sleep schedule:  people sleep better when they go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same time each night and day.  Try to sleep an amount of hours that truly works for you (8 is recommended).
6. Nap before 5pm, or not at all: if you like naps, try taking a nap for less than 30 minutes, and make it before 5pm.  If you still have trouble falling or staying asleep, try not napping and see how that affects your sleep.
7.  Don’t eat a big evening meal: finish dinner several hours before you go to sleep, don’t eat anything an hour before bedtime, and avoid foods that can cause indigestion.
8. Exercise early in the day:  While exercise during the day helps people to have a good night’s sleep, don’t exercise at least 3 hours before going to bed.
9. Explore ways to quiet your mind: you can’t quickly stop a fast moving car; nor can you quickly stop a fast moving mind.  Therefore, have a way of relaxing and dealing with stress during your day—before your mind builds up too much momentum.
10.  Avoid stimulating movies or TV before bed:  Emotionally intense movies or shows can make it very hard to fall asleep for a couple of hours afterwards.   Therefore, avoid such stimulation at least an hour before going to bed..

..and a Bonus Tip: Use what seems to work for you through trial and error:  this can include supplements such as melatonin or “Midnite or Valerian, or things specific to you.