Tips for Better Sleep

From the New York Times

Set a wake-up time, not a go-to-sleep time.

If you go to bed at wildly different times — 10 p.m. one night, 1 a.m. the next, along with unpredictable wake times — “you’re mini-jet lagging yourself,” said Ilene Rosen, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

But it can be hard to set your bedtime. Instead, try a regular morning alarm. That will train you to feel tired at the same time each night — about eight hours before you’re set to wake up.

 

Charge your phone across the room.

You’ve heard it a thousand times: Don’t use your phone before you sleep. Blue light is bad! But still, every night, we scroll.

One tactic: Charge your phone across the room, where you can’t reach it without getting out of bed.

Or, if you use your phone’s alarm to wake up, consider buying a physical clock. That removes another excuse to have your phone within reach!

 

Limit how you use your bedroom.

You want to associate rest and comfort with it, not deadlines and “per my last email.” Ideally, only use your bed for sleep or sex.

 

Go for a cooler cocoon.

We often associate “cozy” with “warm,” but a colder room is better for sound sleep. Dr. Alon Y. Avidan, Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at U.C.L.A., recommends keeping the room close to 65 degrees and using a cooling pillow.

Don’t drink close to bedtime.

If you’re going to drink with dinner, stop after the first course. Enjoy the wine, and give your body a few hours to metabolize it before your head hits the pillow.

Our body temperature drops as we fall asleep, which stimulates natural melatonin, a hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle. Taking a warm bath an hour or two before bed can also help achieve this natural cooling effect, he said.