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SCHEDULES
1. Sleep only as much as you need to feel refreshed the next day. Curtailing sleep solidifies sleep, excessive time in bed seems to fragment sleep.
2. Get up at the same time each morning, regardless of how poorly you slept the night before. Get up at the same time on the weekends as well to not disturb your body's rhythms. A change in weekend hours can lead to "Monday blues" and sluggishness.
3. Going to bed early before a "big day" will probably only result in more tossing and turning.
4. If you miss an entire night of sleep you will only need about 9 1/2 to 10 hours the following night to "catch up."
5. If you haven't fallen asleep after 20-30 minutes, get up. Do something else, perhaps something you dislike, for a short time. Try again when you are tired. This helps you to not associate the bedroom with sleeplessness.
6. Don't force yourself to sleep 8 hours. Each person's "need" is different. The criterion is whether you feel alert and vigorous throughout the day. If you do, you are almost certainly getting the amount of sleep you need.
ENVIRONMENT
1. The bedroom should be as quiet as possible.
2. Find a comfortable room temperature- not too warm, not too cold. An ideal temperature for humans has not been determined, but too warm of a room can fragment sleep.
3. Use the bedroom only for sleep and some pleasant activies.
HABITS AND RITUALS
1. Try to establish a simple routine for going to bed. Habits help you sleep by helping your system psychologically unwind.
2. Avoid napping during the daytime.
3. Excercise regularly. Confine vigorous exercise to early hours and mild exercise to late afternoon or early evening.
FOOD-DRINK-DRUGS
1. Hunger makes for restless sleep. While a light snack before bedtime can help promote sound sleep, advoid large meals.
2. High sugar foods are stimulants and avoid caffeine within six hours of bedtime.
3. Avoid the use of nicotine close to bedtime or during the night. Nicotine is a stimulant and disrupts sleep.
4. Alcohol may relax you and help you fall sleep, but the ensuing sleep is more fragmented, and total sleep time decreased.
5. Any prescription or over-the-counter drug can disturb sleep-wake patterns, and regular chronic use of any medication to help sleep is rarely indicated.
6. Sleeping pills should be used only conservatively.
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9:00 am - 5:00 pm M-TH
9:00 am - 12:00 pm Fri
*Accredited
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
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