Get between 7 and 10 hours of sleep a night. If you are tired during the day, even during boring activities, get more sleep at night. If you are still tired in the morning, go to bed a half hour earlier.
Take less naps to get more sleep at night.
Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule, including weekends. "Sleeping in" on weekends throws off your rhythm. Consistency is best.
Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot tub and then reading a book or listening to soothing music. Avoid lively conversations, action-filled television programs and achievement-oriented tasks just before bedtime.
Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable--not too cool or too warm. If you sleep with a bed partner whose comfort levels are different from your own, the two of you can compromise and dress accordingly to accommodate.
Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. There are many new materials on the market. If your bedding is more than seven or eight years old, shop around for something comfortable, trying out actual bed models in furniture showrooms.
Avoid emotionally and physically taxing activities hours before bed to keep your body calm.
Finish eating at least two to three hours before your regular bedtime. A body focused on digestion is not fully relaxed and consequently, sleep may not reach deep, restorative levels. Eat a healthful, balanced diet with a minimum of refined sugars, which are stimulating. Eating food before hand can increase your metabolism to keep your body awake.
Exercise regularly. It is best to complete your workout at least a few hours before bedtime so you have time to wind down and the adrenaline can leave your system.
Sleepdeprivation impacts food consumption and choice, which may have subsequent health implications.
More facts about sleep:
The Journal of the American Heart Association reported an association between short sleep duration and high blood pressure. Of the nearly 5,000 subjects who were studied over 10 years, those who got five hours or less of sleep per night were more than twice as likely to develop hypertension than those who got the norm of seven to eight hours of shuteye a night.
Another study has shown that elderly people with severe sleep apnea, a disorder that disrupts sleep repeatedly throughout the night, have more than twice the risk of ischemic stroke.
