"8 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Sleep"
1. Make Your Room Cool
Our body temperatures drop when we sleep. Don't sleep with a heavy comforter.
2. Make Your Room as Quiet as Possible
Noise like traffic and neighbours arguing decreases the quality of our sleep. Try using earplugs.
On the other hand, white noise like a fan can help us sleep.
3. Make Your Room as Dark as Possible
Light prohibits melatonin production and thus decreases the quality of our sleep. Blackout curtains are available to block out all the light from your window.
4. Turn Off the Cell Phone
Radiation emitted from cell phones increase the time required to reach deep sleep cycles, and decrease the amount of time spent in them.
5. Red Light, Blue Light
Make sure that you are not exposed to blue light before sleep. Red lights are good.
Blue light such as what you get from computer screens and mid-day sun triggers wakefulness. Red light (warm, glowing) from a fireplace does nothing to impair sleep.
Download f.lux to program your computer to mimic the pattern of the sun throughout the day.
6. Set a Sleep Schedule to Follow Every Day
Go to bed at the same time everyday, Wake up at the same time everyday--this includes weekends.
If you stay up late, do not sleep in. Make up for it by going to bed early. The sleep you get before midnight is more valuable than the sleep you get after midnight. If that is too hard, take a nap instead of sleeping in.
7. Exercise in the Morning
Exercise in the morning will help with sleep. Afternoon works as well. Exercising before bed does the opposite.
8. Eat to Sleep
Certain foods such as warm milk, chamomile tea, and turkey helps when we're having trouble falling asleep.
