Cindy’s Other Blog

Do you lie awake many nights waiting for sleep? Maybe you need to look at your sleep hygiene.

Working on improving your pre-sleep habits is called sleep hygiene. Here are some suggestions for good sleep hygiene for you:

*Eliminating caffeine or chocolate. Try this for a few days. The effect of these two on your body can change over time. Taking caffeine or chocolate even in the morning may be able to affect your night-time sleep.

*Prolonged evening exercise. Taking you 30-minute walk at bedtime can keep you from sleeping.

*Sugar. Sweets taken late in the day can stimulate your system, making it hard to sleep. Even natural sugar, like in orange juice, can be a problem for some people.

*Stimulating conversations. Are you getting all worked up about something after supper? You can save stimulating conversations for the next day. These can keep you awake because they fill your system with stimulating hormones.

*Brainstorming. If you have a creative project you love to work on, you may be better off giving yourself a curfew, such as 8 p.m. Otherwise your mind may work on the problem all through the night, keeping you awake.

So much for what to avoid. So, what can you DO to improve your sleep hygiene?

*In the evening, keep your activities dull and quiet. Do them calmly.

*Those who read at bedtime may want to choose magazines with short items and no story line.

*For watching TV and video, choose documentaries over thrillers.

Give these practices a try to see whether good sleep hygiene will make a difference for you!