What Promotes Sleep

A practical approach to establishing a regular sleep-wake pattern is to begin with things you can control in your behavior or environment. From wearing loose clothing, to improving your sleep environment, there are things you can do. Some strategies include exposure to bright light, structured social and physical activities, and avoidance of naps during the day. During bedtime, the environment should be comfortable and conducive to sleep.

Some other practical strategies include:

Cool room
Keeping your room cool. The ideal temperature is between 65 to 75 degrees. Fans or air conditioners are also great, since they will help keep the room temperature cooler.

Minimize noise
For those who live in a city it's always a challenge to sleep through the night without getting disturbed by sounds from outside and keeping the noise level down. Since it's the intermittent noise that is most likely to waken you, one solution is to get a "white noise" sound machine, which evens out the sounds that you may hear.

Dedicate bedroom
You should only use your room to sleep. Having a TV, computer or other stimulation in your room can not only be a distraction, but also provides unnecessary stimulation that will detract from your ability to fall asleep. And the worst thing you can do is to bring your work into your bedroom. So leave that laptop elsewhere.

Schedule exercise
Let's talk about exercise. Exercising in the morning is perfectly fine. But getting on the treadmill or doing aerobic exercise before bedtime is not a good idea. You might be one of those many people who do this because you're so busy, but ideally you should allow at least 3 hours between the time you exercise and sleep.

Use light
Your exposure to light is also something to consider. Keeping the room dark while sleeping is important, but so is getting a boost of light when you are trying to wake up. It takes a while to wake up, so it's important to expose yourself to bright light as soon as you wake up to increase alertness. And then, in the winter you may want to consider connecting a light source to a timer to increase alertness in the morning.

Regulate schedule
You should also keep a regular sleep-wake schedule. Provide time for relaxation by giving yourself at least a full half-hour before bed to wind down and relax. Don't go to bed hungry.

Limit caffeine
Another thing to consider is caffeine consumption. In general, you can enjoy caffeine in the morning, but you should avoid it later in the day. On the other hand, some people are very sensitive to the stimulating effects of caffeine and they should avoid caffeinated drinks probably all together.

Keep warm
Lastly, a special tip: It is extremely difficult to fall asleep when you're extremities are cold. Having a warm bath about an hour before you go to bed and wearing socks will keep your extremities warm. This act of warming will actually cool your core body temperature, which can help you fall asleep more easily.