...And Improve Your Health
by Dr. Joan Vernikos
Here
are 10 things you can do starting today to improve the quality of your sleep,
and your overall health.
I
recommend you print these reminders and put them somewhere you can easily refer
to them.
Start
with perhaps 2 or 3 and commit to doing them for at least 6 weeks – this is how
long it takes to engrain a habit for long-term benefit. Great sleep and the
benefits it brings are worth it!
1.
Get up and
go to bed at set times.
2.
When tired,
don’t sleep in but rather go to bed earlier.
3.
Be active
during the day but avoid exercise or excessive activity for two hours before
bedtime.
4.
Reduce your
exposure to lights 90 minutes before bed. Avoid laptop, tablet, and smart-phone
screens and turn off the TV!
5. Eat sparingly within 3 hours of bedtime.
6.
Stop
drinking fluids within two hours of bedtime.
7.
Well before
getting in bed, review the day gone by and then calmly mentally prepare for the
next day’s commitments.
8.
Sleep in a
dark cool room.
9.
Make the
bedroom for sleep and amore. Do not
have a TV in the bedroom. And do your reading whenever possible sitting upright
in a chair, and not in bed.
10. Spend two or three minutes before getting in bed doing calming breathing exercises or more formal sitting meditation. For tips on meditation for the average person, click here.
Remember, small investments in your sleep will pay back in a myriad of ways.
