Top 12 Sleep Tips for a Long and Healthy Life

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5. The Bedroom Should be for Sleep and Sex

Don’t use your bed for entertainment purposes. When you eat in bed, watch TV, play video games, or surf the internet from your phone, you send confusing signals to your brain. Help your brain associate being in bed with sleeping or sex. Watch TV and do those other things in your living room, not the bedroom.

6. Keep a Regular Schedule

As much as humanly possible, go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Your body loves routine and it works best when it has a set schedule. If you go to bed at different times, your brain and body will be confused as to when it is supposed to sleep.

7. Watch What You Eat and Drink

It’s not a good idea to go to bed when you are really full, but it’s also not good to go to bed hungry. The discomfort in your tummy might keep you from sleeping well. If you find you are getting up too often to go pee at night, limit how much you drink an hour or two before bed. You should also avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. Both caffeine and nicotine take hours to wear off and can keep you awake and although alcohol might make you feel sleepy right away, it tends to wake people up a few hours after it wears off. Stick with a cup of decaf coffee or decaffeinated herbal tea, or just plain water.

8. Watch Light and Screen Time

Try to get as much natural sunlight during the daylight hours as you possibly can. After sundown, keep the lights in your house dim about 2 hours before bed. You should also limit your screen time and turn them off at least one hour before bed. Studies show that the light from our computer screens, cell phones, televisions, tablets, laptops, and similar items interrupt our body’s natural production of melatonin, which will keep you from getting good quality sleep.

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