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<\/p>\nOrganizations have developed numerous sleep hygiene tips to help you slip into sleep and stay asleep. The National Sleep Foundation, for instance, recommends doing things like establishing a regular relaxing routine before bed, setting up a sleep-friendly environment so that the temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees and the room is dark, avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed, and getting regular aerobic exercise.<\/p>\n
Although these strategies are certainly worth following, they won\u2019t work unless you first shift your attitude about sleep. \u201cYou need to view sleep as an investment, not an expense,\u201d says Michael Grandner, PhD, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. \u201cJust as you have to invest money to make money, you also have to invest in sleep, and though it might take time, it\u2019ll pay off in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n
That starts by realizing that bragging about sleeping too little is akin to boasting about eating five Big Macs in one sitting. Instead, schedule sleep in your to-do list, and make sure you\u2019re aiming for at least seven hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough everybody has a different sleep need, most people need between seven and nine hours,\u201d says Britney Blair, PsyD, CBSM, a California-based clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist.<\/p>\n
You should also know that you can\u2019t force yourself to go to sleep. For example, if you\u2019re running a race or giving an important presentation the next day, telling yourself when you crawl into bed that you have to sleep will backfire. \u201cSleep isn\u2019t something you do, but rather something that happens to you when the situation permits,\u201d Grandner says. \u201cIf you try to force yourself to sleep when you\u2019re not ready, you\u2019ll then be up and drive yourself crazy trying to fall asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, go to bed when you\u2019re sleepy\u2014you should fall asleep in fewer than 30 minutes, Brown says\u2014and know that one bad night of sleep won\u2019t kill you, even if you have a big event the next day. \u201cIt\u2019s less about the sleep you got last night and more about the sleep you got in the last week or two,\u201d Grandner says. In other words, if you\u2019ve been maintaining good sleep overall, one or two nights of bad sleep won\u2019t hurt you, which is why it helps to bank your sleep a week or two prior to important events.<\/p>\n
Another comforting fact? Studies show that people rarely have two bad nights in a row, let alone three, meaning that you will eventually get a good night\u2019s sleep, Grandner says. If, however, you\u2019re having sleep problems at least three nights of the week for at least three months, you could have insomnia and should seek help from a sleep specialist.<\/p>\n
You should also know that waking up several times during the night is normal. Good sleepers actually awaken five to eleven times, but because sleep has an amnestic property, you won\u2019t remember most of them, Brown says. Unless, that is, you break a cardinal sin and see a clock face or a turned-on TV. \u201cIf your eye catches something of interest, you\u2019ll wake up and won\u2019t be able to fall right back to sleep,\u201d he says. Worse, any worries you have will seem more terrible at night, namely because of the way your brain is hardwired, making you think less rationally and more emotionally. Give yourself permission to let go until the morning, when you\u2019ll be able to rethink it.<\/p>\n
These foods are known to help the body relax, so you may fall asleep faster.<\/p>\n
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Published with permission from New Hope Blogger –\u00a0http:\/\/deliciousliving.com\/health\/do-you-have-insomnia-sleep-tips-help-you-decide?page=2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Organizations have developed numerous sleep hygiene tips to help you slip into sleep and stay asleep. The National Sleep Foundation, for instance, recommends doing things like establishing a regular relaxing routine before bed, setting up a sleep-friendly environment so that the temperature is between 60…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1917,1923,1908],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-general","category-healthy"],"yoast_head":"\n