Sunday, October 01, 2006
Home Help For Insomnia
Eliminate or limit caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, and be sure to avoid using these substances late in the day or in the evening.
Check all of your medications with your doctor to see whether they are affecting your sleep; you may be able to adjust your prescriptions or schedule to avoid creating sleep problems.
Keep established bedtimes and wake times, 7 days a week.
Reserve the bed for sleeping and sex; do your reading or TV watching in another room.
Make exercise a regular part of your life, but don't do it within 3 or 4 hours of bedtime.
Don't stay in bed longer than 8 hours, and try to avoid naps.
Use the evening hours for settling down, and avoid challenging activities in the hours before bedtime.
Eat meals at regularly scheduled times, and eliminate bedtime snacks, or have only light snacks near bedtime.
Once you are in bed, relax from head to toe, and guide your mind to pleasant thoughts.
Get plenty of sunlight in the outdoors, particularly later in the afternoon.
Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Try using a sleep mask and earplugs to help you sleep.
Restrict nighttime liquid consumption to reduce the need to get up to urinate, but don't go to bed thirsty.
Avoid uneven noise (sometimes a steady "white noise" such a fan running can help), being too hot or too cold, and the bright lights of television or a computer screen during the late afternoon, evening, and night. ¶ 1:48 AM
Eliminate or limit caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, and be sure to avoid using these substances late in the day or in the evening.
Check all of your medications with your doctor to see whether they are affecting your sleep; you may be able to adjust your prescriptions or schedule to avoid creating sleep problems.
Keep established bedtimes and wake times, 7 days a week.
Reserve the bed for sleeping and sex; do your reading or TV watching in another room.
Make exercise a regular part of your life, but don't do it within 3 or 4 hours of bedtime.
Don't stay in bed longer than 8 hours, and try to avoid naps.
Use the evening hours for settling down, and avoid challenging activities in the hours before bedtime.
Eat meals at regularly scheduled times, and eliminate bedtime snacks, or have only light snacks near bedtime.
Once you are in bed, relax from head to toe, and guide your mind to pleasant thoughts.
Get plenty of sunlight in the outdoors, particularly later in the afternoon.
Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Try using a sleep mask and earplugs to help you sleep.
Restrict nighttime liquid consumption to reduce the need to get up to urinate, but don't go to bed thirsty.
Avoid uneven noise (sometimes a steady "white noise" such a fan running can help), being too hot or too cold, and the bright lights of television or a computer screen during the late afternoon, evening, and night. ¶ 1:48 AM
