For A Good Night's Sleep, Turn off the Computer

Everyone knows that getting sufficient and restful sleep is essential to good physical and mental health, but still we shortchange ourselves. Worse, some of us have difficulty sleeping even when we are willing to devote the necessary hours. According to the Edinburgh Sleep Center, there are 10 things you can do to help you get a good night's sleep:

1. Have and stick to a regular bedtime and wake up schedule
Try to go to bed and get up about the same time each night and morning.

2. Make sure the time that you set for your bedtime, is a time in which you are sleepy.
Do not go to bed too soon or you may have trouble falling asleep or your sleep may be restless.

3. Do not nap
Napping can disrupt normal sleep cycles. Try skipping your nap and see if your regular sleep patterns improve.

4. Make your bedroom a "quiet" room
Do not watch television in your bedroom. Use it for sleeping or quiet reading.

5. Establish relaxing before-bed routines
Take a bath, a glass of warn milk, or do some light reading before bedtime.

6. Develop relaxation techniques
Learn yoga, deep breathing, quiet mediation or listen to soft music while trying to fall asleep.

7. Avoid troubling news right before bed.
Violence in newspapers or on television may bother some people making it difficult to fall asleep. Try reading a book instead.

8. Avoid stimulants.
Do not use stimulants or drink things that contain caffeine(tea, coffee, cola etc.) 6 hours before bedtime.

9. Do not use alcohol or tobacco products close to bedtime.
Use of these products may calm you at the time of use, but they can have disrupting effects on your sleep during the night.

10. Exercise regularly.
Regular activity helps the body and mind healthy, but be sure to avoid vigorous exercise right before bedtime.


And according to Dr. Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Center, as reported here, working at your computer or reading emails can also keep you awake. Apparently even the light from your computer can cause sleep difficulties.

"Work-related stress is a major factor causing a sleepless night; checking your work e-mails before bed on any electronic device is essentially the equivalent to drinking double espresso last thing," Idzikowski said. "We have shown that light from a laptop or Blackberry is concentrated enough to signal the brain to stop secreting melatonin, the natural hormone that produces sleep."

Dr. Idzikowski recommends that you spend at least an hour away from work-related activity before bedtime.