Healthy Sleep Tips

Make after-dinner playtime a relaxing time. Too much activity close to bedtime can keep children awake.
Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot tub and then reading a book or listening to soothing music.
Quantity and quality are very important. Most adults need between 7.5 to 8.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you press the snooze button on the alarm in the morning you are not getting enough sleep. This could be due to not enough time in bed, external disturbances, or a sleep disorder.
If you are having trouble sleeping at night, try not to nap during the day - you will throw off your body clock and make it even more difficult to sleep at night. If you are feeling especially tired, and feel as if you absolutely must nap, be sure to sleep for less than 30 minutes, early in the day.
Eat a light dinner about two hours before sleeping. If you're prone to heartburn, avoid spicy or fatty foods, which can make your heartburn flare and prevent a restful sleep. Also, limit how much you drink before bed. Too much liquid can cause you to wake up repeatedly during the night for trips to the bathroom.
Therapists often use "reconditioning" as part of a treatment plan for insomnia. With this method, people are "reconditioned" to associate the bed with sleep. If you find yourself unable to sleep at all, get out of bed and move to another room, so that you only associate the bed with sleep and not with wakefulness.
Don't forget to use our soft and fluffy fleece bedding with any mattress you choose.
Drink yogurt or other product that can help neutralize the harmful effect of stress hormones on your digestive track.
Not everyone requires seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Some people require only five, others 10. To find out how much sleep your body needs, assess how you feel after different amounts of sleep. Pay attention to your energy level, productivity and general well-being.
Our sleep-wake cycle is regulated by a “circadian clock” in our brain and the body’s need to balance both sleep time and wake time. A regular waking time in the morning strengthens the circadian function and can help with sleep onset at night.
Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy — about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night.

Rachel Broune writes articles for depression treatments. He also writes for alternative medicines