100 WAYS to sleep better
EAT TO SLEEP
1. Make breakfast your heaviest Meal2. Balance Your Bedtime Snack –combine carb with protein containing tryptophan
3. Cherries – melotonin
4. Dine on Seafood –cod, tuna, snapper, halibut, shrimp
4. Dine on Seafood –cod, tuna, snapper, halibut, shrimp
5. Steer clear of greasy eats –heartburn, also chocolate, mints, carbonated beverages
6. Avoid spicy foods
7. Skip Chinese takeout – MSG also in canned veggies, soups, other processed foods (may trigger headaches and insomnia)
8. Avoid Caffeine – stays in the system for hours after your last cup
9. Watch for hidden sleep robbers (caffeine found in coffee, soda, chocolate, tea, medications
10. Eat the right vitamins – B6, B12, calcium, iron
11. Try Magnesium – helps body to make serotonin, which in turn produces melatonin
12. Say no to refills – liquids
13. Cut calories – sleep apnea
14. Sip Smartly - limit alcohol 3 hours before bedtime
15. Check your tolerance – can become more sensitive to caffeine over time
16. Time Caffeine intake around your cycle
17. Try tea – half the caffeine and may also calm stress, green tea has 1/3 less caffeine
18. Steep some Lemon Balm – a mint-family herb
19. Sip Sage – stops night sweats
20. Relax with Chamomile
21. Valerian herb – may stimulate our own natural relaxation system without causing dependency
22. Balance your blood sugar
HOME HABITS
23. Cool off – 60-65 degrees F
24. Dunk in the tub – taking a hot soak 45 minutes before bedtime can trigger this cooling process
25. Cut back on TV – read before bed instead
26. Relocate you computer or place in a cabinet and close at night
27. Clock out – turn the clock aroung so you can’t stare at it.
28. Clean up the chaos – cluttered bedroom makes for a cluttered mind, remove unfinished work
29. Let the morning light in – helps reset your awake-sleep cycle
30. Bring on the (white) noise
31. Hide Blue Light – any light signals the brain to wake up (clocks, cell phones, charges, other electronic devices
32. Block natural light – even a small amount of brightness can enter your retina when your eyes are closed
33. Don’t hit snooze – your brain knows it will go off again, so you won’t go into a restful stage of slumber, and you’ll be more tired than if you’d gotten up. Set your alarm for when you really need to rise.
34. Do less in bed
35. Use the right night-light – 7-watt incandescent bulb for the bathroom run
36. Cover your eyes – the old-fashioned eye mask
37. Toss your old mattress – after 5-7 years, sleep better, less back pain
38. Be a savvier shopper – test the new bed out before purchasing
39. Stop sleeping with Fido
40. Keep out a cuddly cat
41. Create sounds of silence – earplugs
42. Ease Night sweats – cool room, light clothing,
43. Mobile phone – (low radiation levels) turn off at night and use landline
44. Nap Smarter – couch or carpet instead
45. Set the mood – start dimming the lights after dinner
46. Raise the head of your bed – bed risers under the legs at the head of your bed to stop a snoring partner
47. Spring for new support – the fold test – squeeze out all the air, if it doesn’t spring back to original shape and fluffiness it’s time to replace it
48. Pick the right prop – for chronic neck aches, consider orthopedic pillows with a scooped-out hollow
49. Avoid pillow pile up
50. Banish dust mites
51. Review your meds
52. Choose cozy bedding
53. Allergy proof you bed
54. Ease Lower-back pressure – try placing pillow under your knees
55. Wash away pollen
56. Enlist the troops – a never-ending list of c****s? Delegate
MIND TRICKS
57. Problem solve before bedtime
58. Calm an overactive mind
59. Try meditation
60. Focus on a Mantra
61. Make music part of your ritual
62. Think happy thoughts
63. Stop stressing about work
64. Try a form of visualization
65. Walk mindfully to ease anxiety
66. Go green
67. Track your sleep patterns
68. Stop striving for perfection
69. Know when to go pro
70. Hit the hay first
71. Hug before bed
72. Play with your pooch
73. Gab with a girlfriend
74. Set smaller goals
75. Prioritize your zzz’s
76. Take media vacation
77. Book your way to better sleep – audiobook leaves no room for your own worrisome internal narrative.
NATURAL CURES
78. Slip on some socks
79. Spritz on some lavender
80. Break an early evening sweat
81. Find a different headache remedy
82. Quiet a snoring bedmate
83. Breathe right
84. Avoid back pain
85. Ease restless legs syndrome
86. Wear roomier PJ’s
87. Stay on schedule
88. Tap a nap
89. Pick the right nap time
90. Build up to 8 hours
91. Be realistic
92. Give Eastern exercise a go –qi gong, tai chi
93. Walk your way sleepy
94. Get busy
95. Outsmart Jet lag
96. Soothe your worries – St. John’s wart
97. Take a whiff – oranges
98. Book a postwork rubdown
99. Sing to stop snoring
100. Borrow an advance from your sleep bank – go to bed earlier
5. Steer clear of greasy eats –heartburn, also chocolate, mints, carbonated beverages
6. Avoid spicy foods
7. Skip Chinese takeout – MSG also in canned veggies, soups, other processed foods (may trigger headaches and insomnia)
8. Avoid Caffeine – stays in the system for hours after your last cup
9. Watch for hidden sleep robbers (caffeine found in coffee, soda, chocolate, tea, medications
10. Eat the right vitamins – B6, B12, calcium, iron
11. Try Magnesium – helps body to make serotonin, which in turn produces melatonin
12. Say no to refills – liquids
13. Cut calories – sleep apnea
14. Sip Smartly - limit alcohol 3 hours before bedtime
15. Check your tolerance – can become more sensitive to caffeine over time
16. Time Caffeine intake around your cycle
17. Try tea – half the caffeine and may also calm stress, green tea has 1/3 less caffeine
18. Steep some Lemon Balm – a mint-family herb
19. Sip Sage – stops night sweats
20. Relax with Chamomile
21. Valerian herb – may stimulate our own natural relaxation system without causing dependency
22. Balance your blood sugar
HOME HABITS
23. Cool off – 60-65 degrees F
24. Dunk in the tub – taking a hot soak 45 minutes before bedtime can trigger this cooling process
25. Cut back on TV – read before bed instead
26. Relocate you computer or place in a cabinet and close at night
27. Clock out – turn the clock aroung so you can’t stare at it.
28. Clean up the chaos – cluttered bedroom makes for a cluttered mind, remove unfinished work
29. Let the morning light in – helps reset your awake-sleep cycle
30. Bring on the (white) noise
31. Hide Blue Light – any light signals the brain to wake up (clocks, cell phones, charges, other electronic devices
32. Block natural light – even a small amount of brightness can enter your retina when your eyes are closed
33. Don’t hit snooze – your brain knows it will go off again, so you won’t go into a restful stage of slumber, and you’ll be more tired than if you’d gotten up. Set your alarm for when you really need to rise.
34. Do less in bed
35. Use the right night-light – 7-watt incandescent bulb for the bathroom run
36. Cover your eyes – the old-fashioned eye mask
37. Toss your old mattress – after 5-7 years, sleep better, less back pain
38. Be a savvier shopper – test the new bed out before purchasing
39. Stop sleeping with Fido
40. Keep out a cuddly cat
41. Create sounds of silence – earplugs
42. Ease Night sweats – cool room, light clothing,
43. Mobile phone – (low radiation levels) turn off at night and use landline
44. Nap Smarter – couch or carpet instead
45. Set the mood – start dimming the lights after dinner
46. Raise the head of your bed – bed risers under the legs at the head of your bed to stop a snoring partner
47. Spring for new support – the fold test – squeeze out all the air, if it doesn’t spring back to original shape and fluffiness it’s time to replace it
48. Pick the right prop – for chronic neck aches, consider orthopedic pillows with a scooped-out hollow
49. Avoid pillow pile up
50. Banish dust mites
51. Review your meds
52. Choose cozy bedding
53. Allergy proof you bed
54. Ease Lower-back pressure – try placing pillow under your knees
55. Wash away pollen
56. Enlist the troops – a never-ending list of c****s? Delegate
MIND TRICKS
57. Problem solve before bedtime
58. Calm an overactive mind
59. Try meditation
60. Focus on a Mantra
61. Make music part of your ritual
62. Think happy thoughts
63. Stop stressing about work
64. Try a form of visualization
65. Walk mindfully to ease anxiety
66. Go green
67. Track your sleep patterns
68. Stop striving for perfection
69. Know when to go pro
70. Hit the hay first
71. Hug before bed
72. Play with your pooch
73. Gab with a girlfriend
74. Set smaller goals
75. Prioritize your zzz’s
76. Take media vacation
77. Book your way to better sleep – audiobook leaves no room for your own worrisome internal narrative.
NATURAL CURES
78. Slip on some socks
79. Spritz on some lavender
80. Break an early evening sweat
81. Find a different headache remedy
82. Quiet a snoring bedmate
83. Breathe right
84. Avoid back pain
85. Ease restless legs syndrome
86. Wear roomier PJ’s
87. Stay on schedule
88. Tap a nap
89. Pick the right nap time
90. Build up to 8 hours
91. Be realistic
92. Give Eastern exercise a go –qi gong, tai chi
93. Walk your way sleepy
94. Get busy
95. Outsmart Jet lag
96. Soothe your worries – St. John’s wart
97. Take a whiff – oranges
98. Book a postwork rubdown
99. Sing to stop snoring
100. Borrow an advance from your sleep bank – go to bed earlier
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