Sleep Hygiene Tips

1. Maintain a regular wake time, even on days off work and on weekends.

2. Try to go to bed only when you are drowsy.

3. If you aren’t drowsy and are unable to fall asleep for about 20 minutes, leave your bedroom and engage in a quiet activity elsewhere. Do not permit yourself to fall asleep outside the bedroom. Return to bed when, and only when, you are sleepy.

4. Use your bedroom only for sleep, intimacy and times of illness.

5. Almost everyone experiences an occasional night of lost or disturbed sleep. It is a natural, perhaps adaptive, response to acute stress.

6. Avoid napping during the daytime. If you nap, try to do so the same time every day and for no more than one hour.

7. Establish relaxing pre-sleep rituals such as a warm bath, light bedtime snack or 10 minutes of reading.

8. Exercise regularly and confine vigorous exercise to early hours, at least six hours before bedtime, and mild exercise to at least four hours prior to bedtime.

9. Keep a regular schedule. Regular time for meals, medications, chores and other activities help keep the inner clock running smoothly.

10. Hunger may disturb sleep. A light snack, especially warm milk, seems to help people get to sleep. Avoid large meals just prior to bedtime.

11. Avoid ingestion of caffeine within six hours of bedtime, this includes coffee, tea and soda.

12. Don’t drink alcohol when sleepy. Even a small dose of alcohol can have a potent effect when combined with tiredness.

13. Avoid the use of nicotine close to bedtime or during the night.

14. Do not drink alcohol while taking sleeping pills or other medication.

15. Occasional loud noises from aircraft, streets or highways disturb sleep even in people who do not awaken and who cannot remember the noise in the morning. These sleep disturbances can reduce restful sleep. People who sleep near noise should try heavy curtains in their bedrooms, ear plugs or white noise machines to protect the amount of restful sleep they get.