Adopting the following habits can make a big difference in the quality of your sleep.
- Get up about the same time every day.
- Go to bed only when sleepy and try to keep your room conducive to sleeping.
- Keep a regular schedule for having meals, taking medications, exercising, and performing chores.
- Avoid caffeine within six hours of your bedtime.
- Do not nap unless you have found that napping does not interfere with your sleep at bedtime.
- Try to reserve your bed for sleeping and intimacy only. Do not use your bed as an office, to use the computer, or to watch television.
- Whenever you cannot sleep, get out of bed after ten to fifteen minutes and go to another room to read or to watch the television until you become sleepy.
- Avoid sleeping pills and try to only use them sparingly if needed. Most sleeping pills will lose their effectiveness after two to three weeks.
- Never take sleeping pills with alcohol.