Your sleep environment and habits play an important role in the quantity and quality of your sleep. Improving your sleep hygiene can help you get adequate restorative sleep for optimal health and satisfying quality of life.
Creating an environment that is just for sleep can help you get better sleep. Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex, and invite sleep by:
Invest in a mattress that provides adequate support and replace your mattress as recommended.
Developing habits that lead your body to expect restful sleep can help you actually get restful sleep. To improve your sleep, try:
However, lying awake in bed is counterproductive, so:
If you do have difficulty falling asleep, you need to avoid behaviors that will further stimulate you.
Leading up to bedtime, you need to prepare your body for short-term hibernation by:
These tips help you avoid drops in blood glucose levels and nighttime bathroom urges that disrupt sleep.
Leading up to bedtime, also limit light exposure, especially exposure from electronic screens. Blue frequency light stimulates the part of the brain that controls sleep and wakefulness, so exposure near bedtime can confuse your natural circadian rhythm.
If improving your sleep hygiene is not enough to allow you to get sufficient restorative sleep, contact Neurology & Sleep Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Senthil Ramasamy, our board-certified sleep specialist, can diagnose and treat your sleep problem to improve your health and quality of life.