How to Sleep Better

Tips on How to Sleep Better and Enhance Your Life

If you're viewing life through a haze of exhaustion, you probably need to cultivate some healthier sleep habits. Today's busy, over-scheduled lifestyle is full of work pressures, appointments, and obligations. Unfortunately, sleep rarely ranks takes priority...though, it should.

To feel good and stay healthy, the average adult needs seven to eight hours of quality sleep every night. School-aged children need anywhere from 10 to 13 hours a night and teens require eight to nine hours for the greatest benefits and performance.

If you regularly sleep four to six hours a night, you're building up considerable "sleep debt" that will need to be repaid or your health may be compromised. You also will a experience the side effects of sleep deprivation, which can negatively impact many aspects of daily life.

Ask Yourself These Questions

Do you have a regular bedtime or just fall into bed whenever you are at the point of exhaustion?
Do you get up at approximately the same time every morning or sleep in much later on weekends?
When you're in a time crunch, do you cut back on some social activities or forgo your favorite TV shows rather than cut back on your night's sleep?
Do you have a relaxing bedtime ritual (rather than go to bed straight from your desk or kitchen)?

If you answered "no" to at least two of these questions, you may have forgotten what it feels like to get a good night's sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. That's where healthy sleep habits can help.

How to Sleep Better

To improve the quality and quantity of your sleep, you need to make sleep a top priority in your life. Take a look at your present sleep habits and compare them to the following guidelines on how to sleep better. Then, pick one area at a time on which to focus. Human beings are creatures of habit and your body takes time to adjust to change.

For best results, make the following changes slowly and methodically. Once you've got one area in line with your goals, move onto the next one.

Set up a regular bedtime.
To get a good night sleep, your body needs the foundation of a regular bedtime. Your individual sleep requirements will then establish your natural wake-up time.

Getting your internal body clock in step with your sleep schedule will have a big impact on the quality of your sleep. Click here to read more about establishing a sleep schedule.

Formulate a bedtime routine.
The habit of following a certain pattern of events and behaviors every night before bed helps prepare your brain and body for sleep. A soothing, pre-sleep ritual helps reduce the stress and worries of the day and enables you to ease into sleep faster.

Avoid activities that disrupt sleep.
Be careful not to sabotage a good night sleep with activities that overstimulate your brain or body in the two or three hours before bed.

Watching action shows on TV, reading a suspense novel, exercising, checking e-mail, or eating a big meal are examples of activities that can cause you to stare at the ceiling for a while instead of enjoying sweet dreams.

Create a soothing sleep environment.
Your bedroom should provide peaceful, comfortable surroundings that help prepare you for sleep.

Remove excess clutter; make your bed inviting with nice sheets, soft pillows, and a good mattress; use light-blocking curtains; remove your television, computer and other electronics; and keep your bedroom smelling fresh and clean.

Learning how to sleep and cultivating these healthy sleep habits will lead to better sleep. In return, you'll benefit from a host of positive changes in your daily life.