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6 Simple Tips to Improve Your Sleep

<p>Many people have trouble getting to sleep&period; Not only can that make it hard to get through the day&comma; but chronic sleeplessness can cause serious health problems like heart disease&comma; obesity&comma; and depression&period; The average adult needs between seven and nine hours of sleep&period; Here are some tips to help you meet that quota&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><b>1&period; Follow a consistent schedule<&sol;b><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Going to bed and getting up at the same time will help you develop a consistent sleep-wake cycle&period; While many people like to sleep in on weekends&comma; you should limit the difference between weekday and weekend schedules to an hour&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><b>2&period; Don’t go to bed until you’re actually tired<&sol;b><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>You will probably just toss and turn and get frustrated&period; If you haven’t fallen asleep after twenty minutes&comma; get up and do something relaxing like reading or listening to music&period; Go back to bed when your eyelids start drooping&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><b>3&period; Make your bedroom a good place for sleeping<&sol;b><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>For starters&comma; reserve your bedroom for sex and sleep&period; Keep things like computers and work-related materials out of it to keep the psychological connection between your bedroom and sleep strong&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Also&comma; make your bedroom a comfortable place to sleep with a cozy bed and soft pillows&period; Keep your bedroom cool&comma; quiet and dark&period; The latter is particularly important&comma; for light tells the brain that it’s time to wake up&period; Use curtains&comma; blinds&comma; or a sleep eye mask to block light&period; Block noise with earplugs or a device that generates &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;white noise&period;” Ceiling fans&comma; for example&comma; often produce a humming sound that people find restful&period; They also keep the bedroom cool&period; The ideal temperature for sleeping is somewhere between 60 and 75 degrees&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><b>4&period; Protect yourself from blue light&period;<&sol;b><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Computers&comma; smartphones&comma; LEDs&comma; and televisions all emit blue light&comma; a very bright light with a wavelength between 400-495 nm that has stimulating effects&period; It can&comma; therefore&comma; improve mood and make people feel more alert&period; Unfortunately&comma; it also keeps the pineal gland from releasing melatonin&comma; a hormone that helps control the sleep-wake cycle&period; Too little melatonin results in poor sleep&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The simplest way to protect yourself from blue light is to just turn off the computer and other blue light sources an hour or two before bedtime&period; If that isn’t feasible&comma; wear special glasses that filter out blue light&period; You can also use apps on your computer or smartphone that will filter out the blue light&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><b>5&period; Be careful about what you eat and drink&period;<&sol;b><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Try to have dinner in the early evening&comma; and don’t eat rich or heavy foods within two hours of bedtime&period; Similarly&comma; avoid spicy foods and anything else that might give you heartburn or indigestion&period; Caffeine is a stimulant&comma; so avoid coffee and other caffeinated drinks&comma; foods&comma; and medications for four to six hours before bedtime&period; While alcohol can make you feel drowsy&comma; it can disrupt sleep later on&period; Avoid drinking alcohol within three hours of bedtime&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><b>6&period; Exercise early&period;<&sol;b><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Exercise is good for you and can help you sleep&period; You need to finish your workout at least three hours before bedtime&comma; however&comma; since exercise also stimulates the production of a hormone called cortisol&period; Known as the stress hormone&comma; cortisol increases alertness&comma; which is not what you want when you’re trying to sleep&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Most of these tips are lifestyle changes&period; Habits are notoriously hard to change&comma; but once you do&comma; you should enjoy a good night’s sleep&period; If you’re still routinely having problems getting to sleep&comma; however&comma; it’s time to see a doctor&period; Not only can chronic insomnia cause health problems&comma; it can also be a symptom of some&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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