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A healthy lifestyle requires a good night's rest. Some people have developed bad habits that affect the quality or quantity of sleep. The following ideas will help to provide a reasonably good framework for a full night of rest.
1. Try to extablish a regular time each evening, including weekends, to turn out the lights for sleep.
2. Exercise is generally a good habit that promotes better sleep, but try to avoid waiting until late at night to perform the exercise. Allow at least 2-3 hours before bed to cool down after the exercise period.
3. If you are going to eat something late at night, make it a light carbohydrate snack; avoid heavy meals with much protein and fat just before bed.
4. For better quality sleep, avoid alcohol in the 2-3 hours before sleep since it has been found that initial sleep is promoted by alcohol but later night sleep is more fragmented after alcohol consumption.
5. Regarding caffeine, people who have difficulty falling or staying asleep at night should probably avoid taking coffee, tea, Coca-cola, and other caffeinated beverages after 4:00 P.M., and should drink no more than 8 ounce amount during the day.
6. Try to maintain the bedroom as a room for relaxation and rest but not stress and anxiety. Avoid balancing the checkbook, late night horror movies, and arguments just before bedtime.
7. Beginning an hour before lights-out, arrange to do some pleasant and relaxing activity such as reading, knitting, watching non-violent television, muscle stretching, or taking a hot bath.
8. The bedroom should be quiet, dark, and not too hot during the night of rest. The T.V. should be off!
9. Those who like to nap during the day but have trouble sleeping a full night should try to confine nap time to less than 30 minutes.
There are many excellent references on the subject of "sleep hygiene;" one highly recommended text is:
"Power Sleep" by James B. Maas, 1998.
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Copyright ©
1996-2005
Dr. Steven Scheer, MD. All rights reserved.
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